Life's Decisions
by MajorJ.Whit
Summary: Slight AU/ Pre-Seas4;What if the past wasn't what it seemed to be? Damon's tired of waiting for Elena to come to her senses so he makes a decision & takes control of his life. Soon after the decision, a new woman comes into Damon's life with a surprise & secrets of her own. How will Elena take no longer being the only woman in Damon's life? M for lang & implied situations. D/E D/OC
1. Chapter 1

I've been out of commission for a while LOL. The last story I wrote (which I have recently deleted) was written when I was a sophomore in high school and it has been 6 years since that time. I recently started writing again and have decided to post some of my stories (much to my worry and my boyfriend's encouragement). We'll see where this goes.

I am a die-hard Delena fan, but have gotten really tired of Elena's bullshit sooooo I've decided to make her suffer a little just like she has made Damon suffer. Here it goes…

_Disclaimer: I __**DO NOT **__own anything, but the plot and any unrecognizable OCs!_

* * *

**Life's Decisions**

**(Pre-Season 4)**

_**Chapter One**_

_"Damon..." She sighed as his lips pressed against her neck softly and he smiled._

"Shit." Damon sat up off of the couch in the study. He rubbed his head in exasperation. He'd been dreaming about tanned skin and dark brown hair ever since Elena had become a vampire. At first he thought he was dreaming about Elena, which wasn't surprising because he was very much in love with her, but over time he noted things about the girl in his dream that were very different from Elena. Her laugh was different, the way he felt her kiss even through the dream was different, and the way she said his name was definitely different than the way Elena did. The dream girl said it with such care and love. It was as if he was the only one in the world to her, and with Elena that clearly wasn't the case. He always got so close to hearing himself say her name, but just before he would get to hearing it, he'd wake up.

The only reason that he was still in Mystic Falls was because he promised Elena that he would stick around to teach her control, and then he was going to get the hell outta dodge like he'd promised Stefan and himself. He was done waiting for Elena to come to her senses and make a decision, so he was making it for her.

"Damon, are you ok?" Elena asked, seeing the stressed look on the older vampire's face.

"I'm fine." He stood up and poured himself a cup of bourbon. "Did you need something?"

"I grabbed a book and this fell out of it." She held up an envelope. "I assumed it was for you since your name is in the book."

Damon looked at the envelope and then at the book, Dracula. Ironically, it been his favorite book when he was human, but he hadn't read it since before he turned. "Thanks." He took the envelope and the book. "Don't touch my things." He walked out and made his way up to his room before Elena could say anything that could stress him further. When he reached his room, he sat on his bed and took a good look at the envelope.

_'Please read me'_ it said. He inspected it carefully and noticed that the handwriting seemed familiar to him. He rubbed his temples and took long drink from his cup. 'Let's do this.' he thought to himself and opened the envelope.

'_Dear Damon,_

_Every day with you was like a dream, I can't believe that I met you. Emily Bennett said that you may or may not remember me now that I'm gone, but I hope that you do. She promised that we would meet again in the future, in my future. Damon I'm not from your time, I was born in 1990 and sent back into 1863. The year I was sent back when I met you was 2008, but I couldn't be happier that I was sent back. Emily promised that I'd see you again, although I don't know how that's possible, but since she brought be back in time I'm sure that she knows what she's talking about. Whenever you find this letter and want to see me again, you can come find me at this address: 414 Daring Chase Drive, Atlanta, GA 30063._

_I hope that you do want to see me one day, but if you don't I understand. Just know that I love you Damon, I've never loved anyone the way I love you and I never will. Our love means everything to me. Here is a picture of me so that you can be sure it's me in the future if you decide to come find me._

_All my love, _

_Jennifer.'_

He put the letter down. "Jennifer..." he mumbled to himself and suddenly he could finally see the girl from his dreams completely, not just bits and pieces, but her eyes, her nose, her smile, her hair and the dresses that she wore. "Jennifer." He said more confidently with a small smile on his face. He opened the envelope and saw the picture of the tan, brown haired and brown eyed girl. She reminded him of Elena with her innocent eyes and sweet smile, but she had curly hair like Katherine's. The difference between her and the doppelgangers was that her face was a slightly rounder face and fuller lips, and the memories he had of her reminded him that she was curvier. He was sure that he'd seen her somewhere other than 1864 though.

Damon finished downing his bourbon and stood up. 'I'm going to find this girl.' he told himself as he changed his clothes. He had to meet the girl that had invaded his dreams and apparently Emily had sent this girl from the future into his past and back to the future. According to her letter, the two of them had been in love and it must have been before Katherine because he didn't remember her so he was going to find her. She was now 3 years, almost 4 years older than when he'd met her, but she shouldn't be too different than the picture he had, but before he went to find her, he'd stop by to talk to Elena's witchy friend.

"I'll be back in about a week." He said to his brother and Elena as he made his way down the stairs. "Try not to kill anyone." He winked at Elena and received a glare in return.

"Very funny," Elena crossed her arms. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," He shrugged. "I don't owe you any sort of explanation. You're just my friend." He smiled charmingly as he slipped on his leather jacket and walked out. He drove to Bonnie's house and found her carrying groceries inside. "Bonnie." He called out and the young witch turned to look at him.

"What do you want?" Bonnie asked suspiciously.

"Relax Witchy, I just have a question." He rolled his eyes. "If someone is brought to the past by a witch, will the people that the person met remember them once they're gone?"

"No because that would mess with the timeline." She explained.

"So could the people affected by that person ever remember the person?" He asked confused.

"Maybe, but it would take years much more than a normal lifetime." She shrugged.

"So a vampire's lifetime?"

"Yeah, that would be possible because vampires have a higher brain capacity with memories than humans do." She nodded. "Why are you asking me all these questions, Damon?"

"No reason. Thanks, Witchy." He smirked and got back into his car. He looked at the address on the paper and quickly drove to it with the girl, Jennifer, on his mind as he tried to gather more memories of her.

* * *

After being on the road for hours and stopping for sleep and a drink, Damon reached the house. He'd stopped, not because he was tired, but he wanted to be at the house at an appropriate time. Luckily it was Saturday and he was hoping that she was home. He walked up the wooden stairs of the light yellow house and knocked on the door before stuffing his hands into his pocket nervously.

"Can I help you?" A short man in his forties with salt and pepper hair, and a goatee opened the door. He seemed to have a resemblance to Jennifer, and Damon assumed it was probably her father.

"I'm looking for Jennifer." Damon answered as a blonde woman with green eyes, also in her forties, stood behind the man and the 2 of them inspected him. He watched their eyes widen, and then the man glared and slammed the door in his face.

"What the fuck?" Damon mumbled throwing his hands in the air when suddenly the door opened and the blonde woman smiled awkwardly.

"I'm sorry about my husband." She apologized. "You're looking for Jennifer right?" She asked and he nodded. "We're her parents. Here's her address, she doesn't live here anymore." She explained and handed him a piece of paper. "She's home and when you talk to her, I'm sure she'll explain why her dad acted the way he did."

"Thanks." He smiled and walked back to his car. He drove to a different part of town and to an apartment complex. He parked in front of the right building, got out and went to the door of the apartment number written on the paper then knocked on the door. A few seconds later the door opened and there she was. The girl from his dreams was standing in front of him in the flesh, but just a bit older than he remembered.

"Damon?" Her deep brown eyes widened and her voice was filled with disbelief.

"Jennifer?" He asked somewhat unsurely.

"Damon, it's really you." She smiled brilliantly and pulled him into a hug. "Come in." She led him inside to the simple, yet cozy living room. "Sit." She pointed to the sofa as she sat down, and he sat on the other end. "You don't remember me much, do you?" she asked after they sat in silence for a few seconds.

"Not much." He chuckled. He liked that she was straight to the point. "What do you still know about me?"

"Everything that you told me when you were human, and a generalized idea of everything that's happened to you since I came back." She answered. "I know that you're a vampire, I know about Elena, Katherine, and that you've been with a lot of women, about how your relationship with Stefan has changed, and about your problems with Klaus." She explained.

"How?" He glared slightly.

"It was part of the spell when Emily sent me back." She answered with a blush. "It's weird, I know, but I don't know why she did it. She said the income of random information would stop once we met again." She shrugged.

"Emily Bennett always did do a lot of weird things." Damon shook his head. "The good thing is that now I don't have to explain how I'm still alive almost 150 since we've seen each other."

"True." She agreed with a chuckle.

"I was wondering if I could see you more. I've been having flashbacks in my dreams and I'd like to get them all back because from what I can remember, my time with you was pretty great." He asked trying not to show his awkwardness.

Before Jennifer could respond, Damon heard soft footsteps to the living room and turned to look at the source. "Momma?" A little boy in blue footie pajamas asked in a sleepy voice. Damon quickly noticed that he had pitch black hair, crystal blue eyes and skin just slightly darker than his own, but still lighter than Jennifer's.

"JD." Jennifer smiled and picked up the little boy that looked like him so much that it made him uncomfortable. "Damon, this is JD, my son." She said proudly as the little boy buried his face in her neck and fell back asleep.

Damon's head began to spin as his brain began to do the math. The little boy looked about 3 years old, and technically about 3 years ago he and she had... He couldn't even finish the thought. Damon gulped. "Now I know why your dad slammed the door in my face." He rubbed his face.

"My dad? How?" Her eyes widened and realization hit her. "The address in the letter was my parents'... I moved out not long after I found out I was having JD." She explained.

"Why?"

"My dad wasn't really happy when I disappeared. How could I possibly explained what had happened to me? All I told him was that I got chosen to participate in a six-month all expenses paid event in which I pretended to live in the 1860's and couldn't use any technology." She explained with a sigh as she rubbed JD's back. "Then when I found out I was pregnant and he was beyond unhappy that his 18 year old daughter was pregnant and didn't want to give the baby up for adoption so he refused to be responsible for raising it when it wasn't his responsibility. It didn't help that I couldn't tell him who the father was. "

"So he kicked you out." Damon deadpanned and Jennifer nodded. "He really is mine, isn't he?" Damon asked looking at the sleeping boy. There was no way to deny it. JD looked just like him.

"Yes, he is." She nodded with a smile.

"I have a kid." He buried his head in his hands. "I can't believe this. I can't be a dad, Jennifer! I'm not the same man that I was in 1864!" He said desperately as his blue eyes bore into her brown ones. "I've done a lot of bad things! I'm no good anymore. I mean I'm better than I was a few years ago, but I'm still not father material."

"I know you've changed, Damon." She sighed heavily and kissed her sleeping son's head, then looked up at Damon. "We met once, a few weeks after I came back and before I found about JD. I had just gotten my job at the bank and I was saving all my money. You were really drunk; you must've been drinking for days because you didn't recognize me and you..." She looked away and rubbed her neck.

Damon's eyes widened with disbelief. "I fed off you?" His voice was hoarse at the thought of him feeding off of the mother of his child, _his child._ He was a _father_ now. Jennifer nodded and Damon paled. "I'm so sorry... I've done a lot of bad things in my life, but I'm better now than I was 3 years ago." The sincerity of his apology radiated in his blue eyes. "But I refuse to be left out of JD's life. You've been raising him alone for almost three years and I want to be part of his life. He's my responsibility too." Damon said with conviction. "I've always wanted a kid, but I never expected to have one." His gaze turned to the sleeping toddler.

"I know you've changed, Damon." Jennifer said as Damon's words went through her head. He really was seriously determined. She could see it. Even though Damon had changed, she still knew him well enough to see the truth of his words. He really did want to help raise their son. That thought made her extremely happy. It had been a dream to see Damon again and have him say that he wanted to be a part of her life and JD's life. "I'm going to have to get to know the vampire side of you, Damon, and you have to show me that I can trust that side of you just like I trust the human side." She explained. "Then maybe we can decide together when you want to tell JD that you're his father."

"I understand." He was so glad that she was giving him a real chance. "You want to tell him about me? That I'm his dad?" That was something Damon couldn't believe. She was willing to tell their son who his dad was even if he was a killer, and Elena was too ashamed to even admit her feelings for him.

"Of course, Damon." She said with a chuckle. "You're his dad, and I couldn't be happier that it's you." Her words warmed his heart and he couldn't help but smile. "Damon, I'm not naive enough to think that we're going to pick up right from where we left off because although it's only been 3 years for me it's been almost 150 for you. I know you love Elena and I respect that, but looking at you again..." She explained and trailed off with a smile. "Everything that I felt for you so long ago has surfaced in me again." She blushed at her admission.

Disbelief ran through Damon's mind. He couldn't believe that there was actually a girl in the world that wanted him and only him, but there she was sitting right across from him while holding _their son_ in her arms. He didn't know what to say so he simply nodded and changed the subject. "So what does JD stand for?"

Jennifer smirked. Changing the subject when he was uncomfortable had always been a very Damon move. "Jacob Damon." She answered. "I named him after you and my father."

"Is his last name your last name?" He asked, unsure of what her last name really was. It was one of those details he couldn't remember.

"No, it's not Pierce." She shook her head. "My parents think it's Pierce, but it's Salvatore. Now that you're here, I can tell them whenever you're ready, but I'm sure that after seeing you, they suspect it."

'Pierce...' Damon thought incredulously. "That's Katherine's last name." He stated more to himself than to her.

"Yes." She agreed. "I'm a descendent of hers. After returning from 1864, meeting you, her and Stefan, I did an extensive research on my family tree."

"So you met Katherine?" His mind was still blurry on the details of their past.

"Yes, I arrived in 1864 shortly after she did, but she didn't know where I was from."

'_She took advantage of me when Jennifer disappeared..._' He thought with narrowed eyes and glared at the simple beige carpet as realization came to him. "My subconscious remembered you... Your eyes, your hair, your skin, it was all so similar to hers. When you disappeared, she must have figured out that Emily had something to do with it because no one remembered you, and she pretended that everything that I had with you was really with her." He stood up and began to rant. "That bitch!" He growled, earning a hard glare from his former love.

"I know you're pissed, but watch your language." She warned. "There are little ears around." She pointed to the little boy, who was beginning to wake up.

"Good morning, mommy." JD smiled widely at his mother and turned to the strange man sitting on the sofa across from his mother. "Who's that?" He asked suspiciously while clutching his dark blue blankie closely.

Jennifer chuckled at her son's suspiciousness. "JD, this is Damon." She gave JD a reassuring smile. "Damon is a really good friend of mommy's."

Damon crouched in front of JD and smiled. "Hey JD, it's nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mister Damon." JD smiled widely and shook Damon's hand.

"Just call me Damon, JD." Damon chuckled at the toddler's mispronunciation.

"Are you gonna have breakfast with us?" JD asked with hopeful eyes. "Mommy's making her special pancakes." He said as if it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

Damon looked up at Jennifer to ask for her approval and she nodded with a smile. "I'd love too, kiddo." Damon said and JD jumped out of Jennifer's lap.

"Awesome!" He exclaimed and took Damon's hand. "I'll show you my room while Mommy gets started." He began dragging Damon down the hall as Jennifer laughed behind them.

Damon noticed that the apartment was a bit worn down, with infiltration and cracks on the walls and ceiling, but it was tidy. JD opened up a door to a small, light blue bedroom with a single bed that had a child's guardrail, a simple wooden dresser and toys in colorful boxes and on the floor.

"This is my room." JD announced proudly and pulled Damon to the middle of the room where they sat down on a carpet that looked like train tracks.

"It's very cool, kid." Damon said somewhat awkwardly, not knowing how to act around his recently discovered son.

"Did you know that my name is Damon too?" JD asked handing Damon a toy train. "My name is Jacob Damon."

"Your mom told me." Damon said as they began to put together a train set. "Did you notice anything else that we might have in common?"

"We both have blue eyes and black hair." JD responded with a shrug.

"We do." Damon smiled.

"Mommy says that people with blue eyes and black hair are super special." JD stated as if it was an important scientific fact.

"She's right." Damon said ruffling his son's hair. "We _are_ super special." He confirmed making JD smile widely. "So you like trains, huh?" Damon asked pointing to the toys.

"And cars." JD added. "But I don't like Thomas because he's boring. I like Chuggington because the trains there talk so they're cool." He explained.

Confusion took over Damon's face. "What's Chuggington?"

JD's eyes widened with disbelief. To him, it was as if Damon didn't know what the color blue was. "You don't know what Chuggington is?"

"Nope." Damon popped the 'p'.

"Come on." JD stood up and grabbed Damon's hand. "I'll show you." He dragged him to the living room. "Mommy, Mommy! Damon doesn't know Chuggington is! I _gotta_ show him." He explained as if it was the most urgent thing in the world.

Jennifer laughed at her son's antics. "Well it's going to have to wait." She said picking him up. "We need to get you out of your pjs and we need to brush your teeth." She took him back to his room with Damon trailing behind them.

"But Mommy, this is important." JD protested.

"And it will continue to be important until after breakfast." She said with an arched eyebrow. JD said nothing, but simply nodded. "Good." She placed him on the bed, and then pulled some clothes out of his dresser and dressed him. "Now let's go brush your teeth." She said as he got off the bed and they went to the bathroom.

JD brushed his teeth with his mother's help and then grabbed Damon's hand again. "Come on! _Now_ I can show you Chuggington!" He said excitedly and his stomach growled, making him stop in his tracks. "Maybe _after_ breakfast," He said with a cheeky grin making Damon laugh.

"That's sounds good, JD." Damon said ruffling his hair. "You don't have to rush. I'll be here all day."

"Really?" JD asked hopefully.

"Yeah." He nodded in response as the 3 of them made their way into the kitchen.

JD climbed into his booster seat as Damon took a seat and Jennifer brought three plates to the table. "Chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon and eggs." She announced putting the plates down and then grabbing a pitcher of orange juice. She put the orange juice in a Sippy cup for JD and put it in front of him with his panda shaped plate. Then she took her seat on JD's other side.

"Thanks, Mommy." JD said before digging into his plate.

"Thanks, Jen. It looks good." Damon said with a smile. "Is it ok for me to call you Jen?"

"Yes, it's fine." She smiled back. "And you're welcome. You're more than welcome to join us for breakfast any time you want."

"I just might do that." He responded as they too, began to enjoy their breakfast in a comfortable silence.

Once breakfast was over, Damon insisted on taking care of the dishes while keeping an eye on JD so Jennifer could change out of her pajamas. Once she was dressed in jeans and a simple red V-neck t-shirt, she walked out and found the father and son duo on the sofa together watching Chuggington on-demand. Damon had removed his leather jacket, leaving him in a simple white t-shirt and dark jeans, and JD was sitting comfortably into his side. She smiled at the scene; it was something that she thought that she'd never see, but she was ecstatic that it was real.

"Mommy, what are you doing over there? Come watch with us." JD asked, having just noticed his mother's presence even though Jennifer was sure that Damon had already sensed her.

"Yeah Jen, come watch with us." Damon said teasingly, patting the couch next to him. Jennifer rolled her eyes and took her seat next to Damon.

After about an hour, Jennifer stood up and turned off the TV. "That's enough, JD. Let's go to the playground and get some fresh air."

"Yes, please." Damon quickly agreed. Damon couldn't take any more colorful trains singing. If he had to watch one more episode, he was going to stake himself.

"Ok." JD jumped off the couch. Jennifer gathered JD's bag and placed her cellphone, camera, wallet and keys in it. "Damon?" JD asked, getting the vampire's attention.

"Yeah, JD?"

"Can you give me a piggy back ride?" His puppy dog pout made Damon smile. The kid was a charmer just like his dad.

"Sure, kid." He picked him up and placed him on his shoulders. "Just make sure to duck your head when we go out the door." He warned.

"I will." JD promised.

"Jen, why didn't you give JD up?" Damon asked, noticing that JD was distracted watching the clouds as they walked to the apartment complex's playground.

"He was one of the few things that I had left of you other than the memories." She answered. "Why? Would you have wanted me to give him up too?" She asked with a frown.

"No." He answered quickly. "I'm glad you didn't. I would've have missed the opportunity to meet him. He's a really smart 2-year old." He said with a smile.

"He is." She agreed proudly. "I do my best to make sure he speaks correctly. One of my friends is a daycare teacher and she got JD into a 3-day a week government program for free daycare."

"What about the other 2 days?" He asked.

"My mom comes over and watches him for me."

"Does your dad treat him badly?" He asked suspiciously.

"No." She shook her head. "He treats him amazingly, but my dad and I are still at odds a bit. Every time I'm around him for too long he begins questioning where I disappeared to and who JD's dad is, and when I don't tell him he gives me some speech about irresponsibility and other shi-stuff." She explained, correcting herself on the last word.

Damon said nothing, but began thinking as they continued to walk. Jennifer was truly an amazing woman. She was kicked out of her parents' home, but was able to find a nice enough place to raise a child. Though she had help from the government to put her child, well _their_ child, in daycare, she kept a clean home and JD had what he needed, but Damon wanted something better for him. He knew that Jennifer was doing all she could and it was damn good, but he could help give JD more. He wanted a nicer place for her to live instead of an apartment that had infiltration stains on the ceiling and old carpeting. He was going to figure out a way to get them a better place to live.

"You're a great mom, Jen." Damon said sincerely as they reached the playground.

"Thanks, Damon." She smiled gratefully as he took JD off of his shoulders.

"Damon, come on! Let's go to the jungle gym." JD dragged Damon as Jennifer just watched.

She watched Damon help JD climb and hang on the jungle gym, and push him on the swings and help him walk up the slide. She took pictures of the 2 of them together with a happy heart. Her son was really going to have a chance to have a father.

* * *

Damon was happy for the first time in a long time as he lay on his bed in the hotel he'd been staying at since arriving in Georgia. He'd spent the past 5 days with Jennifer and JD after she got out of work and he got off day care, and every day he fell more and more in love with his son. He'd even watched JD alone on Tuesday which was one of the days that his grandmother watched him.

He still couldn't believe he had a son. Over the past 4 days he'd learned that JD's favorite colors were blue and red, that he wasn't a picky eater but that his favorite snack was baby carrots. He also learned that JD love chocolate milk and was allergic to nuts.

During that time, he was also getting to know Jennifer again, as well as get more memories of her. She was sarcastic and witty, a great cook and an amazing mother. She was also beautiful to boot. He even found himself thinking about her every once in a while.

Every day when he was going to leave Jennifer's, JD had begged him to stay, and every day Damon promised that he would return, Damon himself was finding it harder and harder to say goodbye to the little boy that had so quickly changed his life.

Damon got up and got ready for the day. He would be watching JD alone again today and he was looking forward to it. JD was a kid that didn't give a lot of trouble. He wasn't picky and he was obedient, and for that Damon was thankful. He quickly dressed and made his way to Jennifer's as quickly as possible. When he arrived, he knocked on the door.

"Hey, Damon." Jennifer greeted with a tired smile as she smoothed out her white blouse and black dress pants.

"Are you ok?" He asked concerned as he stepped in.

"I'm ok. I've just been feeling uneasy lately, like I'm being watched." She responded with a sigh. "There's breakfast on the stove, but no leftovers from yesterday. JD begged me to ask you to cook because he loved the chicken that you made on Tuesday." She chuckled and Damon smiled.

"I'm glad he liked it."

"He _loved_ it." She smiled as she grabbed her purse. "I gotta go, but Damon? Please be careful. I've really been feeling uneasy so keep a really close eye on JD please." She explained with pleading eyes.

"I will, Jen. Don't worry." He assured. "I'm a vampire with super strength and super senses. JD is safe. Nothing can get past me." He winked and she chuckled.

"You're right. I guess I'm just being silly." She agreed as he opened the front door.

"I got this, Jen." He leaned against the door was as she walked out and bumped into a blonde man.

"Oh Demetri, I'm sorry." She apologized.

"It's ok, Jennifer." The man smiled in an attempt to flirt with her after sparing Damon a glance. Damon's eyes narrowed at the man's boldness. "So when are you going to take me up on my offer for dinner? We can go tonight." He smirked challengingly.

Damon was officially fed up. "She's busy tonight." He said with an easy smile as he threw his arm around Jennifer's shoulders. "I'll be here with JD when you get home from work." He turned to Jennifer, still smiling. "Have a good day at work." He kissed her cheek and threw Demetri a smirk.

"Thanks, Damon." She blushed. "I'll see you tonight." She kissed his cheek as well and took her leave.

"Who the hell are you?" Demetri asked with a glare. He'd never seen any man come out of Jennifer's apartment so early in the morning before.

"The question here is: who the hell are _you_?" Damon arched an eyebrow as he slipped his hands in his pockets

"I'm Jennifer's neighbor and friend." Demetri retorted. "And _she_ is my future lay. I've been aching for a piece of that ever since that little brat of hers grew up. " He grinned lecherously.

Damon growled and pushed Demetri against the wall in a blink by his neck and the blonde man gulped. "Well _I'm_ JD's father and _you_ are going to stay the hell away from Jen because if you don't? I'll kill you and no one will _ever_ find your body." Damon threatened menacingly. "Got it?"

Demetri simply nodded his response in desperation.

"Good." Damon grinned and released him. "Now leave." Damon ordered and Demetri ran. If this guy didn't listen, he'd compel him to do what he said, but he decided to try it the old fashioned way first. Damon returned inside and closed the door behind him.

About 2 hours later, JD trotted into the living room with sleepy eyes. "Morning, Damon." He yawned.

"Morning, kiddo." Damon walked over and picked up the little boy, who quickly rested his head on Damon's shoulder. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good." He mumbled, stifling another yawn. "Did Mommy leave already?"

"Yeah, she did. It's just me and you from now until 7 tonight." Damon answered with a smile as he carried JD back to his room and began changing him out of his pajamas.

"Cool." JD smiled back as Damon finished slipping on his shorts.

"Do you not wear diapers anymore?" Damon asked, noticing that he didn't even wear any to sleep.

"Nope, I'm fully potty trained." He grinned proudly. "Mommy started potty-training me when I was a baby. I haven't worn a diaper or a pull-up since I was 1 year old, not even to sleep." He explained and jumped off his bed.

"You are one amazing kid, JD." Damon said with a smile ruffling JD's hair and they made their way to the kitchen. His son was one smart kid.

"Thanks, Damon." JD said as he climbed into his booster seat. "You're amazing too. Out of all of Mommy's friends, you're my favorite." He smiled as Damon put his cereal in front of him.

Damon couldn't fight the pride in his chest. His son favored him, who he'd met 5 days ago, over people he'd known much longer. "Who are your mommy's friends?" He asked, curious to know more about Jennifer's life.

"Well there's Auntie Natalie, she's Mommy's best friend, and Uncle Ryan is Auntie Natalie's hubsand. There's Auntie Dani, she's my daycare teacher, and Uncle Max, he's Auntie Natalie's brother, Auntie Dani's hubsand and Mommy's other best friend." JD explained in between bites.

"It's husband." He corrected. Jennifer told him to correct JD every time he spoke incorrectly because even though he was only 2, she wanted him to speak as perfectly as possible. That was why JD's speech was so good for a toddler and it made Damon proud that his son was so smart.

"Husband," JD repeated. "Got it," He nodded. "There's Demetri too, but he's not Mommy's friend. He's just nosy." He frowned.

"What do you think of Demetri?" Damon asked, smirking at the frown on JD's face.

"He's creepy." JD made a face. "I don't like him. I wish he'd leave Mommy alone."

"Well I had a serious talk with him. If he doesn't stay away from your mommy, I'll take care of it." Damon promised. He refused to have some perverted creep around the mother of his child and his child.

"You're the best, Damon!" JD jumped into Damon's arms and hugged him tightly. Damon hugged back, holding the little boy that made him feel like the most amazing man in the world, tightly in his arms. He hadn't heard those words come out of someone's mouth with such sincerity in a long time.

The 2 spent the day playing and laughing together, their bond growing stronger. While cooking lunch, JD helped Damon throw the ingredients for the chicken into the bowl. JD drew a picture of squiggles that were supposed to be him and Damon, and Damon drew him a picture of a train. After lunch, they napped together on the couch, and then they went to the playground after waking up.

After all this time with JD, Damon found it hard to find a reason to leave, and he'd be leaving in 3 days. He didn't know how he was going to do it.

At 7:08 Jennifer walked into her apartment more tired and uneasy than when she left, but the delicious aroma that invaded her senses cheered her up. "Something smells really good." She announced in a singsong voice as she slipped off her pumps.

"Mommy!" JD came running out of the kitchen excitedly and into her arms.

"Hey, baby!" She hugged him tightly as his legs wrapped around her waist. "Did you have a good day with Damon?"

"Yes." JD nodded vigorously. "Can he watch me all the time? I love Nana, but Damon's lots of fun." He asked hopefully.

Jennifer's heart dropped. She and Damon had yet to talk about when he would leave and what they would do after he did. "Well," she took a deep breath. "Mommy will talk to Damon and we'll see, ok?" She really didn't want to see her baby get hurt, but she could see that JD already liked Damon so much.

"Ok, Mommy." JD nodded. "He's my favorite." He whispered as if telling a huge secret.

That sentence had definitely been a confirmation of her thoughts. Damon had said he wanted to be a part of JD's life and she hope that he hadn't changed his mind. Jennifer simply sighed as she went into the kitchen and found Damon moving around expertly as he prepared dinner.

"Hey, Jen." He smiled and it brought butterflies to her stomach. Even after all this time, she was still in love with him. "It's almost ready."

"Thanks Damon, it smells great." She smiled back and placed JD sitting on the counter top. "I'm starved."

"Well go change." He ordered playfully. "By the time you get out, the table will be set and dinner will be ready."

"Ok." She laughed and walked into her room. She put on worn denim shorts and a white t-shirt, and returned to the kitchen where Damon was done, just as he'd said and JD was already in his booster chair. "It all looks great, Damon." She took her usual seat as she admired the lasagna, garlic bread and parmesan chicken that he'd made.

"Well, dig in." He shrugged as they all did as he said.

After dinner Jennifer began gathering the dishes off the table and putting them in the kitchen. "Since you cooked, I'll clean."

"I can do it, Jen." Damon insisted just as he had the other days that he'd cooked and she insisted that she'd clean.

"You can give JD a bath and I'll be right there so we can tuck him in." She reminded and Damon smiled. Tucking in JD together was one of the highlights of his day. He felt as if he almost had a family.

Damon nodded his agreement and picked up JD, who was already yawning sleepily. Just as he finished giving JD a bath and getting him dressed, Jennifer waltzed into the room with a smile.

"All ready for bed, sweetie?" She asked sweeping JD into her arms.

"Yes, Mommy." JD mumbled rubbing an eye as Jennifer laid him on the bed and Damon pulled up the covers. She lay next to him on one side of the bed and Damon on the other side, both on the edge of the small bed as she began to sing a lullaby and in no time JD was asleep.

Damon and Jennifer shut off the light, leaving the green train night light on and slinked out of the room quietly. "He loves you." Jennifer said with a tired smile and the worry in her heart continued.

"I love him too." Damon half smiled as they walked to the living room. "It's amazing how I grew to love him so quickly."

"We have to talk about what's going to happen when you return to Mystic Falls. JD's going to miss you so much…" She trailed off as they sat next to each other. "And I'm going to miss you too." She looked away.

"I know." Damon sighed heavily. This was the conversation that he hadn't been looking forward to. He promised her and himself that he was going to be in JD's life, but he didn't know how that was going to happen. He promised Elena that he'd help her learn control. He couldn't leave, at least not yet. "I'm going to miss you guys too." He admitted somewhat hesitantly. "I'll think of something and tomorrow we'll settle this, Jen. I promise."

"Ok." She gave him a small smile and he returned with one of his own.

"I should get going." He stood up and she followed. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jen." He said as she walked to the door.

"Thanks for watching him, Damon." She leaned against the doorway as he slipped on his leather jacket.

"I love spending time with him, Jen. Thanks for giving me a chance to be in his life." Damon slipped his hands into his pockets. "Call me if you need anything, good night." He gave her a crooked smile and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Damon." She leaned up and kissed his cheek before he walked away.

A few hours later, Damon was walking through downtown Atlanta after having fed off of a man who was leaving a bar and he was ready to go back to his hotel to think of a way to stay close to his son. As he walked into the hotel, his cellphone began ringing and he sighed heavily, hoping that it wasn't Elena. She'd called him seven times in the past five days and he hadn't picked up once. He checked his phone and the screen flashed:_**Jennifer**_

"Jen?" He asked worriedly. She was normally asleep at this hour.

"Damon, there's someone here." She whispered frantically. "I saw a shadow of a person on my porch and this is the fourth floor, Damon. I've had an uneasy feeling that I was being watched for some time now, but it's been worse since the day after you came. I think that someone really has been watching me." She explained with evident fear in her voice.

"Where are you now?" He asked as he began running at vampire speed to her apartment.

"I'm in JD's room." Her voice was shaky and barely audible.

"Stay there." He ordered. "I'll be there soon." He hung up and fear ran through him. He didn't want to lose JD or Jennifer. He'd just found out that he had a son, and he wasn't in love with Jennifer anymore but he still cared for her a lot. He refused to lose anyone else.

In no time Damon reached the apartment and knocked on the door. "Jen, it's me. Open the door." He said softly and she opened the door for him warily. "Are you ok?" He placed his hands on her shoulders and checked her over.

"I'm fine." She assured, touched by how much he cared.

"Is JD ok?" He asked as he made his way to the little boy's room only to find him sleeping. "Thank God." He breathed out his relief.

"He's ok too." She smiled tensely, sitting at the foot of the bed. "But there's someone here, Damon. I know it." She looked out the window.

"Stay here and don't move." He ordered and she nodded. Damon walked out to the porch, climbed onto the roof and closed his eyes, letting his senses take over. He felt a presence move in the darkness behind him and his eyes snapped open. He pinned the culprit to the roof with his vampire face showing as he growled. He looked down to inspect his prisoner.

"Elena?" His eyes widened and his face returned to normal.

"Damon." She sighed in relief, glad that it wasn't someone that could possibly end her recently immortal life.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He snapped. "How did you even know where I was?"

"I wanted to make sure that you were ok." '_So now she cares._' He couldn't help but think to himself. "Bonnie did a locator spell."

"So you go around stalking people's homes and scaring the shit out of them?" He glared, unsurprised by Elena's ability to not think a plan all the way through. "I told you I'd be back, which meant: _don't_ come after me." His tone was harsh and made Elena step back.

"But I-" She began only to be cut off.

"But nothing! You scared one of my friends! How long have you been here, trying to nose your way into my business?" He crossed his arms as if talking to a child. She was a new vampire and could've possible hurt JD or Jen, or both.

"I just got here ten minutes ago, but there was another vampire here, Damon. I saw him. He ran off after I showed up." She explained and surprise filled Damon's eyes. He knew what he had to do.

"Go home." He ordered. "I'll be there in 3 days. Do _not_ come back." He shot her a glare over his shoulder before jumping back onto the porch.

"But Damon!" She protested.

"Go _now_, Elena!" He yelled and she did as he said. Damon walked back inside and went to JD's room. "It was Elena, Jen, but someone _has _been watching you. Elena saw another vampire and I could smell another one, Jen. He's been here watching you often." He confirmed and Jennifer's eyes filled with tears. "But I have a solution to this and about being in JD's life."

She let out a loud sigh of relief. "What is it?" Her voice was still shaky with fear.

"Come live with me in Mystic Falls." He said with a smile.

"What?" Her eyes widened.

"You and JD could come live with me." He repeated, unable to gauge her reaction. "You'd always be safe with Stefan and me there. I'll put the boarding house in your name so that only the vampires that you invite in can enter. You'll be safe. I can pay for a nice daycare for JD and you could go to college."

"Damon…" She was floored by his offer. "You don't have to do all that." She stuttered with teary eyes.

"I _want_ to. You've worked so hard taking care of JD on your own, but he's my son too." He reminded. "He deserves the best and so do you, Jen. I can give you the best. I have more than enough money to take care of you both. The boarding house is nice and you won't have to pay rent. I know people so I can help you get a job if you want to continue working." He explained. "Let me take care of you."

A tear streamed down Jennifer's cheek. It had been so long since she'd been taken care of and here was Damon, more than willing to take care of her and their baby. "Ok." She choked out and he smiled, leaning over and wiping her tear away.

"Ok." He sighed in relief. Someone was finally allowing him to take care of them and he loved it. "Don't go into work tomorrow. Call in and quit and I'll handle your apartment contract situation. Then I'll get some boxes while you take JD to daycare tomorrow and while he's there, pack all of the things you want to take with you. I'm going to spend the day making some phone calls and I'll run at vampire speed to Mystic Falls and settle some things and I'll be back in the evening ok?" He explained the plan for the next day and she nodded her agreement.

"Then we'll go to my parents' for dinner and tell them." She added making Damon froze a bit and she noticed. "I can't just disappear, Damon. No matter what issues I have with my dad, JD is their grandson and they need to know where he is."

"You're right." He conceded with a sigh.

"And we'll confirm to them that you're his dad, since they already suspect." She said with a smirk and then yawned.

"Go to sleep." He nudged her playfully and she giggled before yawning again.

"Ok." She agreed and lay down next to JD.

Damon walked to her room, grabbed a quilt and covered her with it. He sat down at the foot of the bed and stayed awake the entire night.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please review! Reviews bring you Damon-attracting cookies :P!


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much everyone for the follows and reviews! I'm glad for the positive feedback! I was super nervous with how people would react, but I'm glad it was good. I'll be updating every week, most likely on Wednesdays, but I'll definitely do my best update every week! **

**Thanks everyone! You guys rock!**

_Disclaimer: I __**DO NOT **__own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters, but the plot and any original characters are mine! No copyright infringement intended. It's just fun to play with the characters ;)_

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

Damon had spent all day running errands to resolve everything that he needed to in order for Jennifer and JD to go live with him in Mystic Falls. He had Jeremy distract Stefan and Elena because he was the one least likely to ask questions as to why he wanted the boarding house empty for the day. Now he was going to Jennifer's place so they could head to her parents' house together.

He let himself in with her spare key and found JD sitting quietly on the floor with Jennifer next to him, rubbing his back.

"The teacher talked about families and I said that I didn't have a daddy, and then Joey yelled that everyone has a daddy." Damon heard JD sniffle and it broke his heart. "Mommy, where's _my_ daddy? You said that I had daddy's name and that he'd come one day. Where is he?" Tears streamed down the toddler's face and Damon's heart broke, but part of him was glad that the little boy was too young to connect the dots of his namesake.

Jennifer looked up at Damon with her own heartbroken look, silently asking him if they could tell JD now. Damon said nothing but simply walked over and picked JD up. "Your dad is right here, JD." He said softly, sitting on the couch with the crying boy in his lap. "I'm your daddy. That's why your name is Jacob Damon and why we both have black hair and blue eyes."

"You are?" JD's eyes widened as he sniffled and his tears slowed.

"Yes." Damon smiled and JD hugged him tightly. "I'm your daddy."

"Where were you?" He cried and guilt weighed down on Damon's shoulders.

"Well I live in a different town and your mom went there before you were born. After she left I lost my memory, recently I found a letter that your mom left so that I could find her, and now here I am." He told a very watered down version so that JD could understand. "Do you forgive me for not being here before?"

"Yes," JD nodded, "I forgive you, Daddy." JD smiled with no more tears.

Damon's heart swelled so much with pride at being called daddy for the first time that he almost cried. JD buried his face into his dad's neck and Damon held his son tightly against him. "I'm not going anywhere ever again." Damon promised.

"Ever?" JD questioned hopefully.

"Ever." Damon confirmed with a crooked smile. "You see how Mommy spent the day packing?" JD nodded in affirmation. "It's because you 2 are coming to live with me."

JD jumped up in excitement. "We are?!" He exclaimed with a grin.

"Yep." Damon chuckled.

"So we're gonna be a real family!" He stated making his parents look at each other somewhat uncomfortably.

"Well we need to get you changed because we're all going to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's." Jennifer quickly changed the subject and swept JD up. "Damon, you can use the bathroom and I'll shower after you." She said carrying JD to his room.

Once Damon was finished getting ready, he walked out wearing a black button up shirt rolled up to his elbows, dark jeans and his usual black boots. "Jen, the bathroom's all yours." He announced seeing JD dressed in a red plaid shirt, jeans and black little Chucks. "You look good, kid." Damon smirked sitting on the couch.

"Thanks, Daddy you look good too." JD complimented with a cheeky grin.

Twenty minutes later, Jennifer walked out wearing a flowy blue top, jeans and black wedges. Her face had very little makeup and her curls were pulled half back.

"You look pretty, Mommy." JD walked up to her with a smile. "Doesn't she, Daddy?" JD looked backed at Damon, who smiled.

"Yeah, she does, JD." Damon stood up and smirked at Jennifer. "You really do look beautiful."

She blushed deeply. "Thank you, Damon." She then turned to look at JD. "And thank you, baby." She kneeled down and hugged him. "I need you to listen carefully to I'm going to say right now," She looked straight into JD's eyes, "When we get to Grandma and Grandpa's you can't tell them that Damon is your daddy and that we're gonna go live with him, ok? Daddy and I are going to tell them so don't say anything." She explained and JD nodded his understanding. "Good." Jennifer smiled and turned to Damon. "Let's go."

"We're taking my car." He smiled, picking up JD as she picked up JD's bag. The three of them went down and got into Damon's car, and made their way to Jennifer's parents' house.

"What are you thinking so hard about over there?"

"I'm nervous." Jennifer said with a sigh as JD was distracted playing with some trains.

"Why?" Damon looked at her curiously and then turned his attention back to the road.

"Because we're actually telling my parents that you're JD's dad and that we're moving to another state to live with you." She explained in a _duh_ voice and smirked at him.

Damon chuckled. "Well your dad already hates my guts." He reminded earning an eye roll. "But your mom might like me. She did tell me your address."

"There's also my brother." She added, knowing that he probably didn't remember.

"You have a brother?" He asked, but before she could answer a memory ran into his head of her telling him about her brother. "You do." He answered his own question. "Luke, right?"

"Yeah." She smiled, happy that he was beginning to remember more. "He's 16 now."

"Well, he'll be easy." Damon shrugged with a cocky smile. "I'll just be the cool older brother that he never had."

Jennifer laughed. Damon's confidence never ceased to amaze her. "I think you're right." She couldn't help, but agree. "I just want this to go well."

"It will." Damon assured, hoping that it really would go well and that he wouldn't be tempted to snap someone's neck. He pulled into the driveway, and he and Jen exited the car. He helped JD out of his car seat and the three of them walked up the stairs of the wooden porch together.

Jennifer took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, a teenage boy with brown hair and green eyes opened the door. "Jen!" He threw his arms around her.

"Luke." She hugged him back and then pulled back. "Luke, this is Damon." She introduced, and in seeing Damon holding JD's hand, realization hit Luke. "Damon, this is my little brother Luke."

Damon held out the hand that wasn't holding JD's. "Nice to meet you."

"You're JD's dad." Luke stated shaking Damon's hand and Damon nodded.

"Before you say anything, just listen to what happened when we sit down to talk to Mom and Dad." Jennifer pleaded.

"Uncle Luke!" JD latched onto the teenager's legs, refusing to be ignored any longer.

"Hey, little man!" Luke picked him up and stepped aside. "Come in." He said to Jennifer and Damon. The 2 of them gave each other knowing looks and walked in. Jennifer took a deep breath as her brother announced their arrival and they stood in the living room. "Mom, Dad! Jen and JD are here!"

Jennifer's mother walked out of the kitchen as her father walked out of his office, both were immediately stunned by Damon's presence. "Mom, Dad, this is Damon." Jennifer introduced as the tension thickened in the room. "Damon this is my mother, Evelyn and my father, Jacob."

"It's nice to meet you." Evelyn smiled sincerely. "Please take a seat." She said and everyone did so.

"Nana!" JD ran into her arms. "I missed you this week, but I still had fun." He hugged her tightly.

"That's wonderful, sweetie." She held him in her lap. "I'm glad you had a good time."

"I did." He nodded and turned to Jacob. "Hi, Grandpa!" He hugged him tightly as well.

"Hey, kid." Jacob smiled and hugged his grandson.

"JD, come on." Luke called, drawing the toddler's attention. "I'll put a movie for you in my room." JD nodded and followed Luke out.

"So it's you." Jacob narrowed his eyes at Damon.

"If you mean I'm JD's father? Then yes, I am." Damon retorted with his usual confident smile.

"Three years late, aren't you?" Jacob snapped.

"Unfortunately," Damon shrugged. "But I intend to make up for it."

"_Now_ you intend to take responsibility? Where the hell have you been all this time? Where were you when she found out that she was pregnant with _your_ kid? Where were you when she was giving birth to him?" Jacob yelled indignantly as he stood up. "And _you_," he turned to his daughter, "you're just going to accept him back into your life, into JD's life, just like that? Who's to say he won't just disappear again?" The anger was rolling off of him in waves. "Your irresponsibility never ceases to amaze me." He shook his head at her as Luke walked back in and leaned against the wall shaking his head.

Luke wasn't really happy with the turn that his sister's life took, but he disagreed with how hard his father was on her. In his eyes, she was doing an amazing job raising a kid all on her own. He was proud of her and he was happy to have JD around to liven up the place.

Damon watched her father's disappointment weigh heavily on Jennifer's shoulders. "Don't speak to her like that!" He stood up facing Jacob head on and towering over him by quite a few inches. "It's not completely her fault. She is _not_ irresponsible. She is an incredible mother and the epitome of responsibility." Damon fought the urge to growl. "She gave her child, _our_ child, a home and food, and everything he could possibly need _alone_ because her dad let his fucking pride get in the way when she wasn't perfect and messed up." He glared at the man who was now sitting wide eyed on the couch. Damon took a deep breath before speaking again. "No, I wasn't there, but I wish that I had been. I suffered an accident the day after Jennifer left. I lost all of my most recent memories, all of which included Jen. I met a girl who reminded my subconscious of her and this girl took advantage of my amnesia, pretended to be the girl that my mind was looking for. She led me down a terrible path of destruction and for the past year I've been straightening myself out. Lately I started having dreams about Jen, and these dreams were memories of our time together. I still didn't remember everything, but my brother's girlfriend found the letter that she left for me in my favorite book. After I read it and saw her picture, I knew that I had to find her." Damon gave a less supernatural explanation of his memory loss. "Now that I found her and JD I never intend to lose them again so I'm taking them to live with me."

Jennifer's heart swelled with the way that Damon defended her. She wondered if he had actually meant it. If he had, then it would take a huge weight off of her shoulders. Jacob and Evelyn sat in silence for about a minute before Jacob decided to speak again. "How are you going to support them?" He asked suspiciously, having noticed Damon's bad boy style.

"I come from old money so I have a vast inheritance." He answered with a confident smile. "I also have degrees in business, philosophy and history."

Although he tried not to show it, Jacob was impressed. Evelyn on the other hand, smiled widely. She was glad that Jennifer had found someone to take such good care of her and JD. "Where are you from?" She asked.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia." He answered. "My family was one of the town's founding families. Jen and JD will be living in my house with my brother and me." He thought it was best not to include Elena in the list.

"How old is your brother?" Luke asked, finally speaking up. He had admired the way Damon defended Jennifer.

"He's 18." Damon answered. "I got guardianship of his last year after our uncle died." He definitely couldn't say that he and Stefan were over 150 years old.

"Cool." Luke smiled.

"How'd you two meet?" Jacob asked skeptically. "That hasn't been cleared up."

"We were chosen to participate in a six-month all expenses paid event in which we would pretend to live in the 1860's. There was no modern technology at all, only things pertaining to that time so we could only contact our families through letters, obviously they lost Jen's." He explained, shrugging at the end. The lies sounded like the sincerest of truths. "We met and fell in love. I still don't remember much, but I _do_ remember that no one has ever understood me like she has. Now we'll get to know each other again and see where it goes, but no matter what, we'll always get along for JD." The conviction in Damon's voice was clear and Jennifer nodded her agreement.

"Well, now that everything is all cleared," Evelyn said standing up, "let's have dinner." Everyone followed her he to the dining room.

"So how old are you anyways, Damon?" Luke asked half-way through dinner, making Jennifer and Damon both smirk.

"24." He answered with a smile.

"So you were around 21 when you were screwing my sister?" Luke arched an eyebrow.

"Luke!" His mother promptly scolded as his father glared and Jennifer blushed bright red.

"What?" He asked innocently. "I was just asking." He shrugged. "Was she already 18?"

"Yes." His sister bit out, attempting to glare holes into his head, the embarrassment still clear on her face.

"Just making sure." He grinned cheekily.

"You're an a- butt." She snapped and he laughed at her correction because of JD's presence.

"I missed you, Jen." Luke gave his sister a genuine smile, which she returned in like.

"You too, Luke."

Damon smiled at the interaction between the 2 siblings, remembering when things were like that between Stefan and himself. It had been a really long time since he actually got along with his brother. "Mom, this was great, but we have to go." Jennifer said once she, Damon and JD had finished eating. "We have to leave early in the morning tomorrow."

Evelyn stood up and hugged her daughter tightly. "I'll miss you, sweetie."

"I'll miss you too, Mom." She smiled.

Evelyn turned to JD, who was in his father's arms, and took him in her own. "I'll miss you, my little boy." She sniffled.

"Don't cry, Nana." JD smiled and patted her back. "Daddy said that you can come visit whenever."

Evelyn chuckled and nodded. Jacob took JD and hugged him as well. "You be good, kid. I'll miss you." He kissed JD's forehead and then Luke took him last.

"I'll miss you, kiddo." He kissed his nephew's forehead. "I'll come visit sometime this summer, ok?" Luke smiled.

"Do you promise?"

"I promise." He ruffled JD's hair before putting him down and turning to his sister. "I'll miss you too, sis." He hugged her. "Make sure you don't give JD a little brother or sister anytime soon." He winked earning a punch on the arm from her.

"I'll miss you too, dork." She smirked. "And behave. You don't go around making any cousins for JD yet." She warned.

"Nah," he laughed. "I like my freedom too much."

"Good." She smiled and he turned to Damon.

"It was nice to meet you, man." Luke said and they clapped their hands into a man-hug. "Take good care of my sister and nephew because if you-" he put his hands over JD's ears before continuing, "fuck up one more time I'll kick your ass, then kill you." He threatened casually and released JD's ears, but Damon could see the love and protection in Luke's eyes.

"I will." Damon promised as they walked to the door. "Don't worry."

"We should go." Jennifer repeated, picking up a yawning JD. "Bye, Mom. Bye, Luke. Bye, Dad." She waved.

"Bye." Her mother and brother waved back, and her dad simply gave a nod as they left.

"Did you mean what you said?" Jennifer asked once they were on their way back to her apartment.

"When?" Damon looked at her confused.

"When you said all that stuff about me to my dad," She answered, anxious to hear his answer.

"Yeah," He smiled. "I meant every word, Jen. You _are_ an amazing mother, don't ever doubt it. I even meant the part about remembering that you're the only one that gets me."

"Really?" She questioned, surprised.

"Really," He smirked. "I'm remembering more, little by little."

"That's good." She smiled and the weight that her father had placed on her shoulders over the past 3 years dropped completely.

* * *

It was 6 o'clock in the afternoon and Damon had been driving for 11 hours. Normally it took him no more than 7 or 8 hours driving, but a little kid required lots of pit stops. He also didn't drive as fast as he normally would have. Even with his vampire reflexes, he didn't want to risk getting into an accident. He was 10 minutes away from the boarding house and Jennifer was fidgeting nervously in the passenger seat as JD was asleep in his car seat in the back.

"Will you calm down?" He was annoyed with all the fidgeting.

"Sorry." She shrugged. "I'm nervous. I haven't seen Stefan in a while and I doubt he remembers me. I'm also a little worried because he had the ripper phase you told me about, and Elena is a new vampire." She explained worriedly. "I'm also wondering if they'll mind having me there."

They had talked a lot on the drive from Atlanta to Mystic Falls. He told her the stories of everything that had happened since his arrival in the town and she told him about the milestones he'd missed in her pregnancy and in JD's life.

"Don't worry." He rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't let you or JD in that house if it wasn't safe, and if they mind? They'll get over it." He shrugged, not caring if Stefan and Elena would get mad at his decision to bring them there.

Jennifer chuckled at his 'don't give a shit' attitude. "If you say so," She smiled.

"I do." He smirked as he pulled up to the house. He could sense that Stefan and Elena were home. "Come on." He exited the car and grabbed the larger suitcases. All that had been brought in his car were the clothes and smaller items, the other things would arrive on a truck the following day. Damon carried in the suitcases and set them down in the foyer.

"Damon, you're home." Elena greeted with a smile. Before Damon could respond, Jennifer walked in holding JD with one arm and 2 duffle bags with the other. "Who's that?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Elena, this is Jennifer." Damon introduced, smirking and taking the sleeping boy into his own arms. "Jen, this is Elena."

"It's nice to meet you, Elena." Jennifer held out her now free hand.

"You too." Elena smiled tensely. She then turned to look at the little boy in Damon's arms and up at Damon as if asking: 'who's that?'

JD yawned and lifted his head, having been shifted. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and looked up at Damon. "Daddy, are we here?"

Elena froze as her eyes widened in shock. '_Daddy?'_

Damon smirked at Elena's reaction and then looked down at his son. "Yeah, buddy. We're home." Elena blinked once and then twice. She examined the little boy in Damon's arms, trying to understand the situation. She couldn't deny that the little boy looked an awful lot like Damon, but how in the world could Damon have ever had a child?

"Damon, it's about time you got back." Stefan said walking into the foyer and he looked at his brother, the little boy in his arms and the girl next to him.

"Have we met before?" He looked at her curiously.

Jennifer smiled a little. "Yes, Stefan." She answered with a smirk. "We met in 1864."

A stunned look graced both Elena and Stefan's faces. "But how are you human? That's not possible." Confusion colored Stefan's features.

Damon rolled his eyes. "It's a long winded explanation. We'll tell you later. Now we have to unpack, shower and eat some real food." Damon explained as he began to walk up the stairs, but stopped and turned back around. "Oh by the way, Stef, this is Jennifer and this is our son, JD." He smirked and began making his way up the stairs again with Jennifer following. "Come on, kid. I'm gonna show you your new bedroom."

Stefan's jaw dropped. "Damon, how, when did- what did-" He wasn't exactly sure on how to question the situation. "We have to talk about this, Damon!"

"We will." Damon shouted back from upstairs. "When I'm ready to," He added. Stefan sighed heavily, trying to wrap his head around the bomb that his brother had just dropped in on them.

"Stefan, how does Damon have a kid?" Elena asked in hushed voice. "He's a vampire and vampires can't procreate."

"And that girl, Elena, I _know_ her." He rubbed his temples. "I'm getting flashes of memories of her from 1864, but she's still human."

"And she smells pretty good." Elena mumbled and then slapped her hand over her mouth as she heard footsteps coming back down the stairs.

"Well it seems we'll need to have the 'you better not eat them or else' conversation after all." Damon said with a sigh and pointed to the study. "Go so that I can say what I have to stay and make dinner." He ordered and they did as he said and sat on the couch as he sat across from them. "Three years ago, Jen was sent into 1864 by Emily Bennett right around the time Katherine was there. I fell in love with her, and you fell in love with Kat. When Jen left six months later, all memories of her were gone because it would've disrupted the timeline if we remembered, but my subconscious remembered. Kat noticed that I didn't remember, but that I kept looking at her because of her likeness to Jen and used that to take advantage of me and make me fall in love with her." He explained with a hard expression. "When Jen got brought back to the future, she was pregnant with our son. Since vampires have a higher brain capacity with memories, I started remembering her, but only small parts. When Elena gave me the letter she found, it was from Jen so I went looking and since then I've been remembering more, but still not everything. Now she and JD are going to live here with me." He smiled.

"Damon, are you sure that's a good idea?" Stefan scratched the back of his head. "Elena is a new vampire and the supernatural situation we're in isn't very safe."

Damon glared at his brother. "She was being hunted anyways. There was another vampire outside her apartment and it had been watching her." He then turned his attention to Elena. "And this is the ultimate test of your control, and if you can't handle it? You're going to live with Jeremy or something because I swear to God, Elena, if you every even think about hurting Jen or JD?" He looked her dead in the eyes. "I'm going to make you regret if for the rest of eternity. There won't a place on this earth that you'll be able to hide that I won't find you."

The seriousness of Damon's words shook Elena to the core. "But Damon, I can't stay with Jeremy!" She protested. "That's my brother!"

Damon glared. "And that?" He pointed to the stairs, "Is my _child_ and his mother." He growled. "I'm warning you now, Elena. This is the ultimate test of your control; I think you can do it. But the moment you think you can't, you have to tell me so that I can find you somewhere else to stay." He explained. "You _know_ that I love you and if you care about me at all then you'll think about how much _my_ _son_ and _his mother_ mean to me. I'm asking you now, to put them first." He turned and walked to the kitchen.

Elena was torn as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the couch. Damon had placed her between a rock and a hard place. She wasn't as sure as he was about her level of control. It was clear that Damon already loved his son and cared about the mother, and she didn't want to take that away from him, but she wasn't sure if she was willing to risk Jeremy's life for them. Damon deserved to be happy, but she wasn't sure about how she felt about Damon having another woman in his life even if it was just the mother of his child. She hadn't admitted her feelings for him openly yet, but she didn't want to lose him. She refused to lose him.

Damon walked into the kitchen with a heavy sigh. For the first time in a long time, Elena wasn't holding first place in his heart and it surprised him how quickly JD had invaded that spot. Right now, JD's happiness and wellbeing came first, no matter what, which was how it should be in the parent/child relationship. '_Maybe I'm not gonna be such a bad dad after all._' He smiled to himself and began cooking dinner.

"Is everything ok?" He heard Jennifer ask from behind him a few minutes later.

"Everything's fine." He assured with a smile.

"Didn't sound like it," She arched an eyebrow as she took a seat at the island. Her wet hair and change of clothes indicated that she had showered. "Damon, I don't want to cause any trouble for you here."

Damon rolled his eyes. "You're not. Some people just need to learn to be a little less selfish around here and put other's wants and needs before their own." He said in a teasing tone, but Jennifer could see the seriousness of the phrase in his eyes. "Where's JD?"

"Upstairs playing in the incredible room that his daddy set up for him," She answered with a smile as she thought about all the effort that Damon put into the room for JD. It had one royal blue wall with 3 baby blue ones, a dark wood, queen sized bed that was lower to the ground to make it easier for him to get on and off with a matching dresser and nightstand, and red wooden shelves mounted on the walls with matching big red boxes for his toys and red shelf for his books. A large train track and race track carpet covered the floor.

"I'm glad he liked it." Damon smiled proudly.

"He loved it." She chuckled. "I could barely get him to stop playing with the new toys so that he could take a bath."

"After dinner, I'll show you your room." Damon began setting the table. "Then tomorrow I'll show you around town and you'll meet everyone that's in our little troop. It's important that you know who you can trust here and who you can't while I help Elena gain control."

"Do you know how long that'll take?" She asked as she helped him.

"I'm not really sure." He sighed. "We're sort of playing it by ear." He looked at her with resignation in his eyes. "Stefan may have been right about bringing into this situation, but I couldn't risk losing you and JD to some vampire when I could've done something to save you, even if it is bringing you here. I put the house in your name, and after dinner you can sign the papers and re-invite Stefan, Elena and I back in."

"Ok." She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everything's going to work out the way it's supposed to, Damon. No matter what happens, I'll stand by your side." She said in a soft voice, allowing her feelings for him to bubble slightly through the surface a little.

"You're something else." He smiled crookedly, surprised at her words of comfort and encouragement, and she laughed.

"Well I try." She shrugged with a smirk of her own.

"I'm almost done with dinner so go ahead, and get JD and get back here." He nudged her shoulder playfully.

"Ok, I'll be back." She walked out to do as he said.

"She looks a lot like Katherine and me." Elena mentioned casually walking into the kitchen.

"She's a descendent of Katherine's so I guess she's a long lost cousin of yours." Damon replied as he placed the food on the table.

"Oh…" She shifted awkwardly. "So what does JD stand for?"

"Jacob Damon." Damon answered looking at Elena inquisitively. "What's with all the questions, Elena?"

"Just trying to get to know more about our new roommate," She frowned slightly. "How are you so sure that kid's yours, Damon?" She spoke the question that had been on her mind since she saw the kid.

Damon's lips formed a hard line as he narrowed his eyes. "Look at him, Elena!" He couldn't believe that she'd actually asked that. "He looks just like me and I remember Jen from 1864."

"Well, how do you know you slept with her? You said so yourself that you still didn't remember everything." Elena crossed her arms over her chest. "She could be lying that it's yours."

"Well I remember that." He smirked. "I remember sleeping with Jen. In fact, it was one of the first things I started remembering so you could say she was unforgettable." His comment caused a sting in her heart. "Now this conversation is over so don't bring it up again because next time I won't be as nice if you question JD's legitimacy."

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Damon." She glared. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Well too late for that, right?" He laughed humorlessly. "This is the only thing that's been good for me since coming back to Mystic Falls, Elena, other than falling in love with you, and now even that's bitten me in the ass so please just let me be happy and enjoy this." He asked in a slightly bitter tone.

Before Elena could say anything back, little feet ran into the room. "Daddy, Mommy said that you made dinner!" JD latched onto Damon's legs.

Damon laughed and picked him up. "I did." He placed him on the island. "You're gonna have to sit on your mom's lap though, because your booster seat is gonna get here tomorrow."

"But Daddy," JD attempted to cross his arms. "I'm too big to sit in Mommy's lap to eat. I'm a big boy."

"I know you're a big boy, JD." Damon ruffled his hair. "But it's just one day so that you won't make a big mess." He lifted him off the island and onto the floor as Stefan walked into the kitchen.

"You cooked dinner." Stefan stated with surprise. He hadn't seen Damon cook in a really long time, but then again his brother had surprised him a lot today.

"Daddy cooks really good!" JD exclaimed with a proud grin.

Damon smiled widely. Elena had never seen such a genuine smile on Damon's face before. "JD, this is your Uncle Stefan. He's my little brother like your Uncle Luke is your mom's little brother." He explained as he pointed to his Stefan and then turned his attention to Elena. "And this is my friend Elena."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Elena." JD held out his hand politely and Elena shook it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you to, JD."

JD then turned to his newly discovered uncle. "Hi, Uncle Stefan." He gave Stefan a shy smile and a wave.

Stefan smiled and crouched to be face to face with JD. "Hey, JD." He pulled JD in for a hug. Even though the situation was complicated, he was happy for Damon and he was really happy to be an uncle, which was something that he never thought was possible.

Elena smiled lightly as Stefan hugged JD. She could clearly see his happiness at the Salvatore family's growth. She turned her attention to the door as she heard footsteps. She saw Jennifer standing there in cutoff shorts and a simple white t-shirt. Elena noticed that their skin tone was nearly the same color; Jennifer's being just slightly lighter. She also had fuller hips, breasts and a slightly rounder face. The 21 year old was pretty; she certainly had to admit it. She didn't even look like she had ever had a baby and it slightly unnerved Elena.

Jennifer smiled upon seeing Stefan hug JD, but worry didn't fail to knot in her stomach as she remembered Damon telling her about the ripper phase. Damon looked up at her as if he had sensed her worry and gave her a nod as if saying '_it's ok'_. She nodded in return and pushed away the worry. She knew that Damon would never let anything happen to their son.

Stefan released JD and the little boy ran over to his mother. "Mommy! I have 2 uncles now!" His infectious smile warmed her heart and she smiled back.

"Yes you do, baby." She picked him up and then turned to Damon. "It smells really good, Damon."

"Well I _am_ a fantastic cook." He smiled charmingly. "Now let's have dinner." He led everyone into the dining room.

* * *

**I'm not gonna lie... I got all teary-eyed when I was writing the scene where Damon told JD that he was his dad. It was _adorable_.**

**Thanks! Please review! Reviews bring you Damon-attracting cookies! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**OK Update day! So I just wanted to thank all of you readers and everyone that's favorited, reviewed and is following this story you guys are really awesome!**

_Disclaimer: I __**DO NOT **__own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters, but the plot and any original characters are mine! No copyright infringement intended. It's just fun to play with the characters ;)_

* * *

_**Chapter Three**_

Jennifer had woken up early and her mind had yet to adjust to her new surroundings. The room that Damon had prepared for her was beautiful. It had beige walls with beautifully crafted wooden furniture and touches of red on her comforter, walls and such. She loved it. He even left spaces left for her to put her own touches.

She made her way downstairs and began making breakfast. She hadn't decided if she would take Damon up on his offer to go to college, but she had decided that she would help around the house as much as she could. She was going to make sure that Damon knew how grateful she was for taking her and JD in.

She hummed to herself and was so immersed in what she was doing that she failed to notice Damon leaning up against the wall. He smiled lightly as he watched her move around gracefully. It seemed so familiar to him.

_*Flashback*_

_Damon watched Jennifer move around the kitchen dressed in a light green gown that was covered with an apron. Her curls were pulled half back and flour was dusted on one of her cheeks. The cook was sitting on a stool, which wasn't a surprise because Jennifer made her take a break whenever she took over the kitchen._

_Tired of standing in the doorway, he walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Do you know how beautiful you are?" He placed a kiss on her clean cheek. _

"_Even covered in flour, Mister Salvatore?" She asked skeptically, but a smile played at her lips._

"_Of course, Miss Pierce." He chuckled and turned her head so that he could place a soft kiss on her lips. "What are you making?" He asked once he had pulled back._

"_Peach cobbler." She answered with a smile. "Amelia and I found a recipe in the drawers and I decided to try it out."_

_Damon's blue eyes widened. "My mother used to make peach cobbler all the time when I was little…" He mumbled softly. "It was my favorite."_

_Jennifer looked at him with sad eyes. She knew how close Damon had been to his mother based on all the stories he'd told her. His voice was always filled with so much love and affection and there was always a smile on his face. "I know." She admitted quietly. "Laura Salvatore was written on the corner. That's why I instead that I make it instead of Amelia."_

_Damon gave a small smile and cupped her cheeks. "You truly are amazing, Jennifer. You remind me so much of her. You will be an amazing mother to our children." He pecked her on the lips. "I love you."_

_*End Flashback*_

Damon blinked rapidly at the sudden memory. That was one he hadn't remembered seeing before. His chest constricted at the memory of his mother's loss, but swelled with Jennifer's act of love in making the cobbler his mother made when he was a boy. He was also surprised at how much he had once felt for her. He wanted her to be the mother of his children, and in 1864 it meant that he had wanted to marry her.

He shook his head. Marriage, children and the mention of his mother made Damon realized that he had been very serious in his love for the non-doppelganger Petrova and it made a small part of him wish that he could feel that way again while the larger and stronger part reminded him of his unyielding yet unrequited love for Elena. His heart clenched as he remembered that he was simply second fiddle in the younger doppelganger's heart just as he had been in the older doppelganger's. But once upon a time he had been the only man in a woman's eyes, maybe, his heart hoped, one day he would be again.

He broke away from the thoughts that were beginning to plague him and looked back at Jennifer, who was flipping pancakes and had flour on her cheek just as she had in his flashback. He walked over with a smirk. "You have a habit of getting flour on your cheek, don't you?" He teased and he placed a curl that had fallen out of the bun and placed it behind her ear.

She chuckled and blushed lightly. "Only sometimes." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

"You should put that away before I find a use for it." He smirked and moved to dip a finger into the pancake batter.

"No!" She smacked his hand away and he moved to stand behind her. "I can't believe you remember _that_ of all things." She rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Well I remember a few other things too." He shrugged casually, the smirk still planted on his face.

"Like what?" She asked with mock suspicion and shifty eyes.

"Well," He pretended to ponder and then looked straight into her eyes. "I remember the curve of your body under mine." He whispered lowly in her ear as his fingers trailed down her arm, making her breath hitch in her throat. "I remember the sound of you voice calling my name in pure bliss." His lips were mere millimeters away from her ear. "And I remember the look on your face when you would finally let go." His husky voice made a lump grow in her throat as feelings that she hadn't felt in years burst inside her as he moved to the other side of the island.

"O-oh…" She stuttered with a blush, her eyes looking everywhere but directly at Damon. She pushed away the feelings that he had awakened because she knew that he was just teasing her and that he was in love with someone else. For her it had been 3 years, but for him it had been 150 and he didn't completely remember her until now.

Damon watched a swirl of emotions flash through Jennifer's eyes before settling on resignation. Guilt crept into his mind. He shouldn't have teased her like that. Although those had been things he _did_ remember, he shouldn't have told her like that. He knew that she still felt something for him while he, unfortunately, didn't feel the same, but he refused to toy with her heart as others had done to him before. No one deserved that, especially not a woman who had loved him whole heartedly, had his child and held her own against a disapproving father.

"Jen," He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Even though what I said is true, that wasn't the way to say it. I shouldn't take advantage of you like that, especially since I know how it feels. It's just that I… I do that kind of shit because…" He shifted slightly as he attempted to find the right words.

"You flirt to tease." She finished for him with an understanding smile. "You put on the cocky act as self defense, Damon. I know." She reassured with a playful roll of the eyes and returned to her cooking.

He stood there in silence for a few minutes, admired at the sincerity behind her words. She understood his personality with ease and simply rolled her eyes at his usual way of deflecting and teasing instead of getting on his case about it, unlike others. It was a breath of fresh air for him. He smiled slightly and sat at the island as she moved around. When her back was turned to him, He reached to grab a pancake.

"Damon Salvatore, get away from those pancakes right now." She warned without even turning to look back at him.

His eyes widened and he moved his hand back. "How did you know?" He asked suspiciously.

She let out a laugh. "I'm a mother, Damon. I have a son who loves to sneak food behind my back." She turned face him and flipped another pancake. "Now I know where he got it from." She teased with a smile.

Damon smiled back. "He's a lot like me, isn't he?"

"So much." She nodded as she finished the last of the pancakes and started on the bacon and French toast, flipping everything with ease.

"You cook with ease… Have you always been able to cook?"

"I learned a lot from Amelia." She answered with a smile. "My mother also owns a bakery so I've picked up a lot." She shrugged. "Plus being a single mother kinda requires a girl to learn how to cook." She gave a crooked smile. Damon nodded, the guilt still brewed in him. "Now stop." She ordered with a glare.

"Stop what?" He furrowed his eyebrows and folded his arms across his chest.

"Blaming yourself." She arched an eyebrow. "There was nothing that you could've done. What happened to you was out of you control. Now stop acting like an emo-pire and go set the table." She teased, but he could still see the seriousness behind her words.

He chuckled and set the table as she had requested. "We're gonna have guests here soon." He informed as he walked back over to her. "The whole Scooby gang is coming here to meet you."

She arched an eyebrow. "Do they _know_ they're meeting me?" She asked fighting the smirk on her lips.

"Nope." Damon's answer had been exactly what she assumed. "They just know that it's important that they be here." He smirked and she laughed.

"You just happened to leave out that they'd be meeting your ex-girlfriend from 1864, who just happens to be human and had your child in the phone call?" She teased with a laugh.

"Actually, it was a text." He corrected with mock seriousness, making her laugh as she began placing the food on the table.

"Oh, my mistake." She chuckled.

"Mommy? Daddy?" They heard JD's sleepy voice from the top of the stairs.

"I'll go get him. I don't want him coming down the stairs while he's semi-conscious while in footie pajamas where he could sleep and fall." Her worry for JD reminded Damon of his own mom's worry for him. "I'll also get him into his clothes for the day."

"Ok, I'll finish things up here." Damon nodded and she walked out. Once he was finished, there was a knock on the door. He opened the front door to find Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie, and Matt standing there.

"Ok, we're here." Caroline chirped cheerily as always.

Damon rolled his eyes. "You're early."

"Well," Caroline pushed him out of the way and everyone followed her in, "you said that it was important and it couldn't wait." She shrugged and then turned to the kitchen. "Something smells good." She walked into the kitchen and saw pancakes, bacon, French toast and orange juice on the table.

"Wow, where did all this come from?" Jeremy asked, looking around as his stomach growled.

Damon rolled his eyes. It was obvious that the talk was not going as he had planned. "Just sit down." He ordered in surrender.

"Hey, guys." Elena greeted after making her way downstairs upon hearing her friends' arrival. "Wow." She said upon noticing the breakfast feast. "Did you?" She turned to Damon, who simply shook his head.

Damon turned his attention back to Caroline and the others. "Look, the reason I called you all here is so that you could meet someone who's gonna be sticking around for a while." He explained as he heard Jen JD make their way down.

"You have humans here?" Caroline, who heard the heartbeats, inquired while looking at him confused.

"Yeah, I do." Damon shrugged with a smirk.

"Damon…" Elena warned, her eyes screaming at Damon for him to just tell them, but Damon just smirked more as he turned his attention to the door. She knew that he wanted to catch them off guard just as he had with her and Stefan.

JD and Jen made their way into the kitchen together and JD let go of his mother's hand when he saw his father. "Good morning, Daddy." He said, still rather sleepily as Damon picked him up.

"Good morning, kiddo." He kissed JD's head, turned to Jen, who was shaking her head with a small smile, and then turned to Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie and Matt who had shock clearly written all over them. Damon let out a soft chuckle. "This is JD, my kid, and that's Jennifer, his mom." He said casually as Elena's head shook with disapproval. "JD, Jen, this is Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy and Matt." He pointed to each person accordingly.

"Hi." JD waved with a shy smile and then rested his head on Damon's shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you guys." Jen gave them a friendly smile, ignoring Elena's disapproval and Damon's cockiness. "I'm sorry to surprise you all this way. I assumed that Damon had informed you with all the details, but I found out otherwise just before you all showed up." She explained with an apologetic look and a shrug. "But then again, that's just Damon." She rolled her eyes but they could hear the playful tone in her voice.

"Damon, what is going on here?" Bonnie asked with a glare as she stood up, and Stefan slipped into the kitchen. "Are you seriously trying to convince us that the little boy you're holding is your son and that she's his mom?" She glared even more as the desire to give him an aneurysm grew, but she couldn't do it because of JD.

"Did you compel them or something?" Matt asked looking between Jen and JD.

Damon glared immediately. Did they think that to find people that would like him that he would have to compel them? Or did they think that he could only find friends with Elena's help? "No." He snapped at the blond guy and Jen shook her head. "This is real." He fought the urge to growl as his glare burned into Bonnie and Matt while Caroline was still too stunned to speak and Jeremy simply waited for an explanation.

Stefan walked over to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder in order to get his attention, but got JD's as well. "JD, why don't I take you to see the back yard while your mom and dad talk with the other grownups?"

"OK, Uncle Stefan." JD answered with a yawn and Stefan pulled him out of Damon's arms and began to walk out of the kitchen.

"You don't seriously believe this, do you Stefan?" Bonnie accused, making Stefan halt and look at her.

"Just listen to what he has to say," Was his simple answer before taking his nephew outside. Jen couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she watched Stefan's interaction with JD. His decision to take JD out had reminded her of Luke. Luke would always distract JD when things around the adults got too tense.

"Now that there are only adults in the room, we can talk more freely." Jen said with a sigh, feeling disappointed at the way Elena's friends had automatically assumed the worst in Damon.

"So no more bullshit," Bonnie crossed her arms, still glaring at the blue-eyed vampire. "Tell us the truth."

Damon took a threatening step forward. "Listen here, Witchy-" He started only to be cut off by Jen, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe I should explain instead." She gave Damon and exasperated look and turned to the others. "Everyone sit down and have breakfast so we can talk." She ordered, leaving no room for argument as she put some food in a small bowl for JD. "Elena, since you already know everything, would you mind taking this out to JD so he can eat?" She asked, holding out the bowl.

"No problem." Elena took the bowl and ran at vampire speed to JD and Stefan, and back.

"Now," Jen took a seat between Bonnie and Damon, "My name is Jennifer Pierce." She began and immediately earned gasps from around the table. "And yes, I am related to Katherine and Elena." She added with a chuckle. "Three years ago I was sent into the year 1863 by Emily Bennett where I met Damon, Stefan and Katherine. I was there for 6 months and during that time Damon and I fell in love. I was pregnant when Emily sent me back into my present and when she did that all beings in the natural order of things, forgot me completely. I was erased from the timeline so that I wouldn't disrupt it, but I continued to remember everything. I left Damon a letter because Emily promised that Damon would remember me one day and he found it last week and came to find me." She finished as everyone set in silence around the table for a few seconds.

"That's why you came to me with those questions about time travel." Bonnie finally understood, looking at Damon.

"Yes, but when I found Jen, I sure as hell wasn't expecting to find JD too. I had no idea about JD, but that's my kid." Damon said with a small smile. "I'm gonna be a part of his life for as long as I can."

"Aw, Damon!" Caroline smiled. "That's so sweet!" She squealed, making Damon put on his usual mask.

"So why are they here after only a week?" Jeremy asked, showing no signs of accusations.

"I had been having a feeling that I was being watched for a while…" Jen trailed off and looked down.

"There was a vampire watching her and the scent was old, which means that Jen was being hunted." Damon finished on her behalf. "Someone was looking for the right moment to strike, like a game. So I brought her here. I know that sometimes we get sucked into a lot of supernatural bullshit, but with Klaus off our case I figured that there wasn't much that could be worse than him."Everyone else, except Jen of course, nodded their heads in agreement.

Damon turned to look at Jen and said, "Now you know who you can trust." And she simply nodded in response.

"Welcome to the group." Caroline smiled widely. "You can trust my mom too. She's the sheriff, and I'm Caroline Forbes, this is Bonnie Bennett, Matt Donovan and Jeremy Gilbert. He's Elena's little brother." She explained as she pointed to each person accordingly.

Jennifer smiled at Caroline's sunny disposition. "I'm Jennifer Pierce and that beautiful little boy saw is my son, Jacob Damon Salvatore." They could all see the pride in her eyes when she talked about JD.

"Damon a father… now _that_ is something unexpected." Jeremy said with a chuckle as the others followed causing Damon to roll his eyes.

"He's been really good with JD." Jen added throwing a smile Damon's way. "He's a really good father."

"I simply have a hard time believing the situation at all." Bonnie shook her head and sighed. "Why would Emily bring you back in time, let you get involved with the Salvatores, and send you back? It doesn't make any sense."

"You would have to ask her." Jennifer shrugged.

"Well congratulations, Damon." Caroline said in a teasing voice. "You're a father." She smiled. '_Maybe there's hope for Damon yet._' She thought to herself.

"Yeah man, congratulations." Jeremy clapped him on the shoulder and Damon simply smiled his thanks. "JD seems like a nice kid."

"He really is adorable." Caroline agreed with a nod.

"He _is_ my kid." Damon reminded with a crooked smile making her roll her eyes.

"Whatever." She remarked and turned to Elena, who was sitting between her and Bonnie. "You're awfully quiet, Elena. Are you ok?" Caroline's bluntness made Jennifer laugh internally because it reminded her of her best friend Natalie. She had noticed how quiet Elena was, but it wasn't her place to ask.

"I'm fine." Elena assured. "I'm still having a hard time believing the situation." She explained.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Out of everything that's happened in the last year, this is the hardest thing to believe?" The annoyance was clear in his voice.

"It is kinda weird," Jeremy shrugged. "But hey, we've seen weirder so good for you, man." Damon smiled at Jeremy's comment. "How many ancient vampires can say that they have a kid that's their blood?" That earned a smile from both Damon and Jen. At least someone had taken the situation well.

Before anyone else could say anything, JD came strolling in holding Stefan's hand and then ran over to Jen with a smile. "Mommy, guess what? Uncle Stef took me for a walk in the backyard and told me stories about Mysic Falls, and he told me that I'm never supposed to go to the woods alone." He explained excitedly making the grownups smile.

"That's great, baby." She kissed his forehead. "And the name of the town is Mystic Falls." She corrected and he nodded his understanding. "Did you eat your breakfast?"

"I made sure he did before we went walking." Stefan answered for him as he put the bowl and spoon in the sink.

Jennifer smiled at him. "Thanks, Stefan. Now grab a seat. We just finished talking and are finally going to eat." She offered and Stefan took a seat next to his brother as everyone began digging in.

"Wow, this is really good." Matt complimented in between bites.

"Jen made it." Damon mentioned as he have her a quick, crooked smile. "She's a hel-k" he corrected before continuing, earning chuckles all around, "of a cook and baker."

"This is the best breakfast I've ever had." Jeremy mumbled with his mouthful.

Jennifer laughed because he immediately reminded her of Luke. "Thanks, Jeremy. If Damon doesn't mind, you can come here for breakfast whenever you like." Then she looked at Matt. "You too, Matt. I don't mind cooking."

Damon smirked as he finished his plate. He wasn't surprised at how quickly Jen was winning people over. She definitely had the Petrova charm. "I don't mind." He shrugged his approval and reached over to JD. "Come here, bud. Let your mom finish her food." He pulled him onto his lap.

"Cool, thanks." Jeremy smiled and put more food on his plate.

"Yeah, it's really nice of you." Matt smiled as well as he finished off if what was left in his plate.

Elena watched as everyone talked and asked Jen and JD questions. Her mind was still reeling over the fact that Damon was a father. She had to admit though, JD was really cute and the spitting image of his father, and Jennifer was really nice, but something inside her felt wrong. It wasn't simply the fact that she couldn't have that. She could never have a child. Not with Stefan, nor with anyone else, but Damon had been gifted with something that she, Caroline and Stefan could only dream about. He had a child and he could have a family, but would that mean that he would stay with Jennifer so that the 3 of them could be a family? No, she answered to herself. Damon was way too in love with her. Sure he played around with other women, but he never truly gave up on her.

"It's no problem." Jennifer shrugged as everyone finished eating.

"That was really delicious." Bonnie complimented with a smile.

"Thanks, Bonnie. I'm glad you liked it." Jennifer smiled as she began gathering the plates.

"Let us help." Caroline said as she began gathering some dishes too. "It's the least we can do." She and Bonnie began helping.

"You guys are great, but you don't have to." She protested, earning smiles from both the witch and the vampire.

"Let them." Damon insisted playfully and put JD on the floor. "I'll make sure everything gets done. You've already cooked so the Scooby gang and I will clean up."

"But I-" She began to protest yet again only to be cut off.

"_You_ are going to go upstairs and change because I'm taking you and JD to get to know the town." He crossed his arms and she saw the he wasn't going to budge.

"Fine," She relented and turned to their son. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go change into clothes so we can go out with Daddy." She held out her hand and he immediately took it.

"Ok, Mommy. Can I wear the black shoes please?" He asked as they made their way out and Stefan walked over to Damon as the other began cleaning up the kitchen.

"So 'Uncle Stef', huh?" Damon gave his brother a grin.

Stefan let out a laugh. "He said that it was easier to say." He explained. "He's a really smart kid."

"He is." Damon agreed in a rather serious voice. "It sucks that I've already missed so much out of his life and he's only 2." The regret rang clear in his voice.

"It's not your fault, Damon. You never even knew about him or _her_ for that matter." Stefan reminded in order to appease his brother's conscience.

"And you have no idea what she had to endure alone because I wasn't there." Damon sighed. "Let's just get this done. I want to be dressed and ready before Jen's done."

Once the kitchen was clean, Damon quickly made his way to his room and changed. He walked to JD's room and saw Jen slipping his little black Chucks onto his feet.

"I like living with Daddy, Mommy." JD swung his dangling little feet.

"Me too, sweetie." Jen smiled at him.

"Now I have a family like the other kids from school." He smiled and Damon's heart swelled.

Family. Damon hadn't been part of a real family, a happy family since his mother was alive, but now it seemed like he was given another one. "Are you guys ready to go?" He finally spoke up.

"Yep." JD answered, popping the p just as he had seen his father do, and it made his parents smile.

"He gets more and more like you every day." Jennifer chuckled.

"Then he'll be awesome. Right, kiddo?" He grinned at Jen and then at JD.

"Right, Daddy." JD agreed with a grin of his own making Jen laugh.

"That's what I'm talking about." Damon smiled victoriously and ruffled JD's hair. "Let's go." He took his hand as the three of them made their way downstairs.

"Daddy, is Uncle Stef coming too?" JD asked as Damon buckled him into his car seat.

"No, kiddo, but he is gonna meet us later at the Grill." Damon answered slipping into the driver's seat.

"Everything has changed so much." Jen said as he drove to the square.

"Tell me about it." Damon agreed. "I remember the first time I came back here after I left. It had almost fifty," he whispered so JD wouldn't hear, "years. A lot had changed and you technically haven't seen Mystic Falls in 150."

Jen nodded. "It may seem silly because I'm from this time and I'm used to technology, but in my head I couldn't truly picture Mystic Falls any other way other than how it was." She smiled and Damon saw a faraway look in her eyes. He could see that she was lost in a memory. "Everything was really simple back then..." She whispered as she shook herself back into reality.

He sighed sadly. "I really do wish that I could remember more..."

"I hope you do." Jennifer replied honestly. "I really do because even if we never go back to that, I'll always want as part of JD's life and my life, and trust me when I say that there are no words that I could ever use to describe the time I spent with you Damon."

Regret grew even more in Damon's heart at the same rate as surprise did. He hated that he couldn't remember. Everything he had with her was locked away somewhere in his mind and he was having a hard time finding those memories. He wanted to cherish those memories just as he did with the ones he already had of her, and Jennifer? She never ceased to surprise him. She wanted him be always be a part of their lives even though he was a vampire, and even though explaining the situation to JD would be hard someday and he would be there for them as long as they wanted him.

He brought himself out of his reverie as he pulled into the parking lot of the town square. "Here we are." He announced once they were parked and he slipped out of the park. He unbuckled JD and put him on the ground as Jen walked over to them. "If we get any funny looks, just ignore them." He said with a nonchalant smile.

"And why would we get funny looks?" Jen asked, not being able to contain a smile at his expression.

"Let's just say, I don't look like the father type." He shrugged with a smirk as they began walking. "But," he amended, "considering my history with women, I'm sure that someone was expecting me to have a baby mama around somewhere."

Jennifer laughed at his label for her as she took JD's other hand and the 3 of them could walk together. "Please," she begged, "when you introduce me to people, do not use the term 'baby mama'." She continued chuckling.

"Aww..." He mock pouted. "Now you're just being a party pooper."

She rolled her eyes at his antics. "You've had your fun already." She reminded, thankful that JD was too distracted looking around."You completely threw Elena's friends for a loop with no giving them any heads up about us and it was obvious that Elena didn't approve of how you broke the news." Even though she thought it was pretty funny too.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Elena doesn't approve of a lot of the things I do." And man did it drive him crazy. Jennifer chuckled at the annoyed expression. "What's so funny?" He looked at her curiously.

"Nothing." Jennifer answered casually, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"So you're not laughing at me?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Ok." She admitted with a cheeky smile. "It's pretty funny when you get annoyed." She chuckled again. "I always found it so funny."

Damon couldn't help but smile at her cheekiness. "Haha, hilarious." He said sarcastically, making her let out a giggle.

"Sorry." She shrugged, clearly unapologetic.

"Yeah, right." He smirked as Sheriff Forbes walked up to them. "Hi, Liz." He nodded at her.

"Hey, Damon." She nodded back and then looked at JD and Jen oddly. "Who's this?" She gave a rather suspicious look.

"This is JD." He ruffled JD's hair and placed a hand on Jen's shoulder. "And this is Jen, my son and," Jen gave him a look so he wouldn't call her 'baby mama', "and his mother." He finished cheekily.

Liz narrowed her eyes. "Damon." Liz said warningly. "Did you..?" The rest of the sentence was clearly implied.

He rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't and we can talk freely around Jen. She knows."

"She does?" Sheriff Forbes looked surprised.

"I do." Jen confirmed with a nod. "It's nice to meet you, Sheriff Forbes." She held out her and the sheriff quickly took it.

"You too." Sheriff Forbes gave her tentative smile.

"And this is JD, our son." The little boy smiled brightly at the sheriff.

Sheriff Forbes' eyes widened at JD's likeness to Damon. "Wow… You look just like your daddy." Looking at him made it a lot harder to doubt the legitimacy of Damon's story.

"Thank you." His smiled widened, obviously proud of being compared to his father. "Are you really a sheriff?" His eyes widened

Sheriff Forbes smiled at JD's sweet innocence. "Yes, I am." She nodded.

"Cool." JD giggled. "You're like Woody!" His Toy Story analogy made Jennifer and Sheriff Forbes laugh, and Damon looked at them oddly.

"Who's Woody?" Damon whispered to Jen, which made her let out another laugh.

"When we get home, I'll show you." She whispered back.

"Well it was nice to meet you, Jennifer." Sheriff Forbes held out her hand with a smile and Jen shook it.

"You too, Sheriff." She returned smiling as well and Sheriff Forbes turned to JD.

"It was nice to meet you too, JD." She shook his hand with a smile too.

"Thanks, Sheriff!" JD gave her a bright smile. "It's nice to meet you too."

Sheriff Forbes chuckled and gave Damon a nod. "I'll let you get back to your walk."

"Thanks, Liz. Just ask Caroline about all this because I honestly don't feel like repeating myself." Damon responded, nodding to her as well and she walked away. "That went better than I expected." He smiled crookedly and she chuckled.

* * *

Jen sighed heavily as she unpacked another box. She had been unpacking their things that had arrived just a day after they had for the past three days. Luckily, JD wasn't around to demand her attention.

Caroline had come by and begged her to let her take him to the park. She hesitated at first because she didn't really know Caroline, but Stefan immediately stepped up and said that he would accompany them. She consented, trusting Stefan to keep an eye on her child. Caroline squealed and hugged her. She noticed that Caroline had immediately taken a liking to JD, but then again… it was impossible not to. He _was _his father's son. Damon had gone with Elena to practice control and later he'd be picking up the new deed of the house to put in her name.

She began placing JD's clothes in his dresser when suddenly her cellphone started ringing loudly. She quickly answered without even looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Jennifer Ann Pierce!" An angry female voice yelled into her ear so loudly she pulled the phone away some. "How the hell do you just pack up and move without telling me? Do you realize how worried I was when I went to your apartment this afternoon and it was empty? How the fuck do you meet your baby daddy again and move in with him to _another state_ without telling us? You do realized that Max was gonna ask his friends in the FBI to find you and our nephew?" She rambled and Jen chuckled as she shook her head.

"Breathe, Nat." She rolled her eyes, although she understood her best friend's concern. "Calm down… Everything's fine."

"Don't tell her to calm down!" A male voice yelled. "I thought you were kidnapped by that creeper Demetri, but then the creeper tells us that there was some _man_ staying at your place all week who claimed to be JD's dad!"

"Give me back the phone, Max!" She heard Natalie yell and a struggle go on.

"Max, Nat!" She yelled in hopes of getting someone's attention as the laughter of her friends' spouses echoed behind their struggle.

"Ok, got the phone back from my idiot brother." Natalie said victoriously and Jen laughed. "Now back to our conversation."

"I swear, sometimes it's like you two never grew up." Jen sighed. "Look, I told Luke to explain things to you guys when you came back. I texted him my new number to give to you and obviously he did, Nat. Why all the dramatics?"

"Because we didn't go see Luke first," Natalie responded in a _duh_ voice. "We went to see _you_ and then the creeper tells us that you ran off with a dude. You didn't even call us!"

"You were in Malaysia doing charity with Ryan! You had no cellphone service, how exactly was I supposed to reach you?" Jen rolled her eyes. "Max and Dani were on their second honeymoon and I wasn't going to call them and say: 'Hey guys, JD's dad just reappeared into my life and we're gonna go live with him.' You and I both know that he would've flipped the fuck out and come home."

Natalie laughed. "Very true… Ok you win this time, but we're coming down to visit. Is that ok or does the asshole that disappeared on you not like visitors?" Anger laced her sarcastic question.

"It's not like that, Nat." Jen sighed. "After the event, Damon suffered an accident. He got amnesia and there was a possibility that he'd never regain his memory, but he started to little by little. He also found the letter I left for him, and then he came looking."

"Hm…" Natalie responded pensively. "Alright," She accepted the explanation. "But you know Max won't be as easy to convince, especially since he's training for that ABU stuff. He'll analyze the shit out of this guy. We know how much you suffered after Uncle Jacob kicked you out and whether this guy has a legitimate reason for not being there for you or not, we'll make sure he knows what you went through to bring life to his child." The conviction was clear in her voice and Jen knew better than to argue.

"Max is training for the BAU, Nat, as in the Behavioral Analysis Unit." Jen rolled her eyes. "It's fine if you stop by this weekend. I'll let Damon know."

"Damon?" Natalie asked surprised. "That's his name?"

Jen laughed at her blonde best friend. "Yes."

"You pretty much named JD completely after his dad! I wondered where you got Damon from. How could I not see this?" Natalie rambled in disbelief.

"Relax, Nat." She repeated to the overexcited blonde. "I'll see you guys Saturday. I'll text you the address and tell Max that he has to be nice."

Natalie giggled. "I will, and you make sure to make that amazing apple pie! We'll be there for lunch."

"I will."

"Good. Give my nephew a hug and a big kiss for me." Natalie reminded.

"Give everyone a kiss for me, now I gotta go finish putting away everything that I unpacked." Jen turned to the clothes on JD's bed and sighed, earning a laugh from Natalie.

"Have fun, mama bear."

"Bye, airhead." She jabbed back affectionately and hung up.

Natalie and Max were twins that had been her best friends since birth. Their mother was best friends with her mother and their fathers were business partners. The three of them were practically siblings and they'd taken JD as their nephew. Danielle, better known as Dani, was Max's wife and joined their group in high school when she and Max began dating. After high school, just before she was sent to 1863, Natalie went to Italy for an internship at some big label fashion company where she met her now fiancé Ryan, who was a photographer, while Max went with Dani's family to send the summer in the Bahamas. When they returned, she still hadn't returned from what they believed was supposed to be a trip around the country to check out colleges.

She smiled at the thought of her friends, but returned to folding her son's clothes. She finished putting away all her clothes and JD's clothes away by the late afternoon, and started pulling out all of the picture frames that held pictures of her friends and family. There were also many of JD and many of her while she was pregnant with JD. Natalie had insisted that the pregnancy be documented as much as possible and with Ryan, it was entirely possible.

She moved downstairs to the living room to unpack the box of photo frames and picked up a picture of her when she was 4 months pregnant with blue little tennis shoes that Natalie had bought as a gift as soon as they left the doctor's office against her small, bulging belly, and she had just found out that she was having a boy. After she and Natalie had left the doctor's office (and the store so Natalie could by the baby shoes), they went to Natalie's house where her stylist best friend did her hair and makeup as Ryan set-up the living room to take her pictures.

_*Flashback*_

"_Alright, Ms. Pierce." The doctor said as Jen lay back on the exam table and put the cold gel on her stomach. "Let's see how this little baby's doing and found if it's a boy or a girl." _

_Jen smiled nervously as Natalie held her hand. "Relax, Jen. I'm sure everything's fine." Natalie assured as the sound of the baby's strong heartbeat filled the room._

"_Well, the baby's definitely doing better, Jennifer, but you need to keep talking the prenatal vitamins as well as the supplements I gave you." The doctor smiled at Jen. "Let's look around to see if we can see the sex." She moved the sensor over her stomach in search of the right position and then stopped._

"_Well? Have you found out, Dr. Lane?" Jen asked hopefully, turning to look at the screen._

_Dr. Lane turned to Jen with a smile. "It's a little boy."_

_Natalie squealed and clapped as Jen's eyes filled with tears. "A little boy…" Her voice was barely above a whisper. '_I hope he looks just like his daddy…'_ She thought as one of the tears finally spilled over and her heart clenched. '_How I wish you were here to see this, Damon…_'_

_*End Flashback*_

Jen shook her head as she pushed back her tears. '_Well he's here now.'_ She smiled down at the picture.

"Watcha looking at?" She heard Damon's voice ask from behind her.

She turned around and saw him walking towards her. "Just looking at some pictures."

"You're crying." He frowned slightly, taking a seat next to her on the floor.

"Just from a memory." She reassured with a smile and then lifted up the frame to show him.

He took it with a smile, looking at the picture of her pregnant with their child. "How far along were you?"

"4 months." She smiled. "That's the day I found it he was a boy. My friend Natalie's fiancé took the picture as soon as we left the doctor's office."

"It's beautiful." He ran a finger over the picture and then looked at her. "What was it like? When you found out?"

She took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, I was nervous every time I went, but my doctor was great. She was a single mother really young, but put herself through school and became an OB/GYN. When she told me he was a boy…" She got a faraway look in her eye and a small smile on her face. "From the moment that I found I was pregnant, I hoped for a little boy. When Dr. Lane confirmed what I felt in my heart, I was ecstatic and all wanted was for him to look exactly like you. My heart broke a little though… I'd been home for 3 months and I missed you so much, all I wanted was you there with me even though I knew it wasn't possible. I just hoped that you would be as happy as I was if you knew." She explained, and then looked down with a sniffle. She didn't want to tell Damon about what she went through after returning to her own time and she hoped she'd never have to. It wasn't the easiest story to tell.

Damon's heart clenched as he placed a hand under her chin, making her look up at him with teary brown eyes. "I would've been happy." He affirmed with a small smile, earning one from her in return. "I _am_ happy, Jen. You can't believe how happy I am that I found the 2 of you."

"I am too, Damon." She leaned into his hand.

"You 2 being here, I know it's going to make a lot of things better." He pulled the box of photo frames close. "I want you to put these all around the house, not just in your room and his room. This is your home now and I want you to feel like it, but first, I'm going to pick out the ones I want to put in my room." He gave her a cheeky grin.

"Ok." She agreed with a chuckle. "Oh," She gasped as realization hit her. "My friends called me asking if they could come to visit on Saturday. They were all out of town when you stopped by and were so mad I just left without warning. Is it ok?" She asked, scratching her head.

"It's fine." He smiled. "Now show me more pictures of our good-lookin' kid." He winked, making her laugh. "Where is he by the way?"

"Caroline stopped by and asked if she could take him to play at the park. I was a little unsure at first, but Stefan offered to go to so I said it was fine. He promised that they'd be back before it got dark so they should be back soon." She explained and he nodded.

"Ok, back to these pictures." He pulled a frame out of the box, earning another laugh from her. His excitement to share the memories of her pregnancy warmed her heart.

* * *

Elena watched in complete silence from the doorway of the living room as Damon and Jen talked about the milestones of her pregnancy. A knot formed in her stomach as she watched them laugh and bond. She felt uncomfortable with how their friendship was developing. She knew they had a baby together so it was only right that they have a close relationship, but she had never seen Damon actually be friends with any woman like he was with Jennifer. There was the Rose situation, but that wasn't on this level. It worried her and she didn't really know why. She'd never be replaced in Damon's heart…right?

The front door opened, breaking Elena from her thoughts, and Stefan walked in holding a sleepy JD in his arms as Caroline followed behind with JD's bag on her shoulder. "Hey, Elena." Stefan greeted with a smile.

"Hey," She smiled back. "You guys were out for a while."

"Well we really wanted to make sure that JD enjoyed his day at the park." Caroline explained smiling. "Where are Jen and Damon?" Elena tried not to think of the 2 of them grouped together as a unit as she pointed into the living room. "Thanks." The perky blonde smiled, and she and Stefan went into the living room as Elena stayed in the doorway. "Oh my gosh! Is that you?" Caroline asked pointing to one of the picture. "You were such a pretty pregnant lady. You didn't look like a beached whale at all. You were actually pretty!" She gushed.

"Thanks." Jen laughed as the nearly sleeping toddler lifted his head off of his uncle's shoulder and looked around.

"Daddy," He reached for Damon, who he hadn't seen all day.

"Hey, kiddo." He pulled JD into his arms. "Did you have fun with Uncle Stefan and Caroline?"

"Yeah!" He nodded excitedly. "Ms. Caroline is really nice and really fun."

"Heck, yeah I am!" Caroline agreed with a smile making Stefan and Jen laugh, and even Elena smile.

Damon rolled his eyes at the blonde vampire. "Let's go give you a bath before dinner, kid." He bent down picking up 3 frames. "These are going in my room. I'm sure you can find somewhere for the rest. If you wanna hang any of them up, Stefan will help you." He said and made his way over to the doorway, spotting Elena for the first time.

"Did you just get here?" He looked at her curiously.

She sighed. When did Damon start failing to notice her?

'_Oh yeah, when he brought a kid home.'_ She answered herself.

* * *

**Ok there it is! Please don't forget to review! Here's a little announcement... I made a photobucket account and posted a few pictures based on the story. I'll put the link on my account, _but_ before you go there, lol, I'm going to warn you. I did _a lot_ of photoshop work and it's not good lol. In fact it looks kinda funny, but it's all a result of me being completely unable to find an actress to represent Jen so I ended up photoshopping Nina Dobrev -_-'... The point is that Jen is supposed to look a lot like the doppelgangers, enough to look like a sister... so please if you're gonna go there don't judge my shoddy work lol.**

**Thanks so much to all the readers & followers!**

**-Major J.**


	4. Chapter 4

**First, thanks so much to all the reviewers and followers! You guys are really great and you've really motivated me to keep going on this story.**

**Secondly guys, Here's an **_**insanely**_** long A/N explaining a little something about the TVD characters' personalities in story, though I did put on the summary that this story was slightly AU. I got a guest reviewer who mentioned that Damon was too OCC, that Elena was acting too much like Katherine, and that if I was going to write a TVD story I should stick to keeping them **_**in**_** character. But here is my psychological analysis of Damon and Elena explaining why they're acting this way:**

**Damon: he's tired of being put second, undervalued & underappreciated **_**all the time**_**. Everyone has their limit, their breaking point. Damon has finally reached his, and is finally putting himself and his feelings first. He was planning on skipping town after Elena clearly chose Stefan, but then she turned and begged him to stay, so he did **_**for her**_**, but didn't give up on the plan to leave once Elena was fully in control of her vampire instincts. He then meets a woman from his past and he is the only one who holds her heart, unlike his previous experiences. Let's face it, Damon is **_**not**_** going to act like his usual badass vampire self around his 2 ½ year old son, and he's not going to be an ass to Jen because he knows what it's like to be second place in someone's heart.**

**Elena: She is a new vampire with amplified emotions and more volatile than an older vampire would be. Everything she feels is stronger than a normal person. She can no longer deny her feelings for Damon because they're stronger now, but is still resisting them. She's used to being the only woman in Damon's life that he genuinely cares about until now. She's learning how to control her emotions and figure out her feelings, but she's still on that same back and forth path when it comes to him. The possessiveness she feels for Damon is part of the more instinctual side of hers, not the human side and that instinctual side sees Damon as hers. Vampires are more possessive and instinctual beings. Damon and Stefan control that better because they are older, but since she is a newborn Elena cannot completely separate the vampire side from her human side yet.**

**So there is my extremely longwinded explanation. I hope the personality situation is clear to everyone. **

**Now on with the story!**

_Disclaimer: I __**DO NOT **__own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters, but the plot and any original characters are mine! No copyright infringement intended. It's just fun to play with the characters ;)_

_**Chapter Four**_

Damon and JD were playing in his room while Jen finished was finishing up dessert for her friends that were visiting today. When she asked if it was alright if they could visit, he quickly gave his consent, but he was a little nervous. These were the people who were by her side when he should have been, but didn't get a chance to. He was sure that they were probably going to be wary around him, but he was going to be himself and nothing short of that.

"So are you excited to see your mom's friends?" He asked as JD pushed toy trains around the carpet that had a train track design.

"Yes." JD looked up at him with a smile. "Auntie Natalie always gives me presents and Uncle Max plays chase with me." His blue eyes twinkled brightly. "He would take me to the park with Uncle Luke and they would chase me everywhere."

Damon smiled", but part of him was jealous of the relationship that he had with Jennifer's friend Max. Before he came into JD's life, Max was the only father figure that the little boy had. "So you like him a lot, huh?"

"Yeah," JD nodded. "Uncle Max is really cool." He grinned widely and Damon smiled half heartedly, wondering if he would ever compare to JD's _Uncle Max_. "But you're more cool, Daddy." His little blue eyes twinkled.

Damon smiled. "Of course I am, kid. I'm the coolest." He picked up the little boy and stood up. "Man, that apple pie your mom's making smells really good, huh?" He asked as they made their way down the stairs.

JD nodded his agreement. "Mommy makes good pie."

Damon simply chuckled as he reached the bottom step, he put JD down and the front door opened revealing Caroline. "Hey Elena, are you ready to go?" Caroline asked and Elena zoomed in from the parlor.

"Or we could stay and have lunch here." Elena stated casually. "The lunch Damon and Jen made smells so good, and that pie smells awesome." She really wanted to meet Jen's friends that were coming to visit. It'd giver a better view on her distant relative.

"No way, 'Lena!" Caroline crossed her arms. "We haven't had a girls' day out in forever. We're going shopping, getting mani-pedis and getting our hair done." She smiled. "It's gonna be a fun, _normal_ day."

"But Caroline-" She was immediately cut off by her best friend as Stefan slipped into the foyer.

"Nope." Blonde curls shook from side to side. "We're going out and being normal teenage girls, plus this whole lunch thing is more of a family situation so come on Bonnie's waiting in the car." Caroline took Elena's hand and dragged her to the door.

Damon and Stefan smiled at the word family. How long had it been since they felt like a family? Since they truly felt like brothers? Maybe this was their chance to get back to that.

"Have fun, Ms. Elena and Ms. Caroline!" JD waved with a cheeky grin.

Caroline stopped in her tracks and walked over to him and gave him a tight hug "Thanks, cutie! You are just so adorable." She stood up, grabbing Elena's hand. "Let's go have a good time!" She dragged the doppelganger out the door.

Damon and Stefan looked at each other, and shook their heads as the 3 Salvatore males walked into the kitchen. Unlike what Damon had been expecting, it was spotless and Jen was drying her hand on a dish towel.

"Wow…" Stefan breathed out. "Considering the fact that you spent all morning in here and Damon helped cook, I was expecting it to look like food exploded in here." He chuckled.

"I like a clean kitchen when I cook." Jen shrugged with a smirk.

"Did you set the table in the dining room already too?" Damon asked just as surprised as his brother.

"Yep, now we just have to wait for my friends to show up." She nodded as she removed the full body apron which revealed a light mint green chiffon blouse and cream lace shorts.

"You look nice." Stefan complimented with a smile and Damon nodded his agreement.

"Thanks," She blushed a little. Male attention wasn't something she was used to anymore. "It's a little too much for a single mom with a messy toddler I think, but since Natalie is a fashion-addicted stylist, I'd rather not hear her nag about my clothes." She rolled her eyes.

"You look very pretty, Mommy." JD walked over and hugged her legs.

She smiled and picked him up. "Thanks, pumpkin. You look very handsome." She looked at Damon. "Thanks for getting him dressed."

"Well he's my kid so he's gotta look good." Damon smirked. He was wearing a gray John Varvatos button up shirt rolled up to his elbows, dark wash jeans and black boots.

Jen laughed. "Now I have _two_ fashionistas in my life: Natalie and Damon. What am I gonna do?" She asked with mock panic.

Damon opened his mouth to give a smartass response, but a knock on the door cut him off making Stefan chuckle. "I'm gonna go get the door." The younger Salvatore brother said and opened the door to find a well dressed young blonde woman arm in arm with light blonde haired young man, and a taller, more serious young man holding hands with a petite blue-eyed young woman. "You must be Jen's friends." Stefan smiled, stepping aside. "Please come in."

The blonde woman smiled, walking in first as the others followed and JD immediately ran to her screaming, "Auntie Natalie!"

"There's my handsome boy." She smiled, scooping him into her arms as Jennifer and Damon walked into the foyer as well. "I missed you! I can't believe your mommy just took you and left while I was away."

"Neither can I." The blonde man snorted quietly with a frown.

"Because you were both easy to reach, right?" Jennifer asked sarcastically as she walked over to Natalie. "I missed you, Nat." She hugged her friend tightly and pulled away. "I missed all of you." She then hugged the blonde man tightly before looking back at Damon and Stefan. "Guys, these are my friends, Natalie Marshall; her brother Max Marshall; Max's wife Danielle Marshall; and Nat's fiancé Ryan Biancardi." She pointed the blonde girl, followed by the blonde man, then the brunette girl and lastly the light brown haired man. "Nat, Max, Ryan and Dani, this is Damon Salvatore and Stefan Salvatore. JD's father and uncle." She pointed to each of them accordingly.

Natalie eyed Damon from top to bottom. "Dang, Jen. I am _impressed_. He's a fine specimen." She smiled and batted her eyes in a flirty way, earning a grin from Damon and an eye roll from Jen and Stefan. "He definitely knows how to dress."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Please forgive my fiancé, she forgets to use her verbal filter." He shook each brother's hand and he had a light Italian accent.

"I don't mind." Damon shrugged with a smirk.

"It's nice to meet you." Dani held out her hand with a kind smile and both Salvatores shook it.

"It's about time we met you." Max arched an eyebrow and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Max, please." Jen narrowed her eyes, begging her friend to behave.

Max pressed his lips in a hard line as tension flowed between the adults, but little JD was happy to see the aunts and uncles that he hadn't seen in a month. "Uncle Max!" He ran over to Max, who picked him up immediately. "I missed you." JD hugged him tightly.

Max smiled for the first time since setting foot through the door of the boarding house. "Hey, I missed you too, tiger." He tickled JD's sides making him laugh.

"Come on," Jen smiled at the exchange between her son and pseudo-brother. "Lunch is ready."

"Great because I'm starving." Ryan said cheekily. "Let's face it, Nat's good at just about anything except cooking." He said making everyone except said blonde laugh.

"I resent that." Natalie crossed her arms with a pout.

"You all, but burn water." Dani giggled, earning a narrowed look from her sister-in-law.

"Actually, I think she's burned water once." Max teased with a smirk.

"I did not!" Natalie argued with a death glare at her brother and laughs from her friends as well as the Salvatore brothers as everyone began to serve themselves and go to the dining room.

"So Salvatore?" Ryan began speaking before anything got too awkward. "Are you of Italian descent?"

"Our ancestors came from Italy to Mystic Falls." Damon answered with a smile as everyone began eating. '_So his accent _is_ Italian._'

"Parli Italiano?" Ryan asked with an arched eyebrow at both brothers.

"Sì, lo facciamo." Damon answered with a smirk, speaking flawlessly.

"Entrambi di voi?" Ryan looked surprised as the way Damon responded, sound just as Italian as he was.

"Sì, tutti e due." Stefan answered speaking just as well as his brother as Natalie, Dani and Max looked on them surprised, and Jen smiled knowingly. She knew that both brothers spoke perfect Italian because their parents had come from Italy.

"Can we speak English please?" Max rolled his eyes. "I hear enough Italian from Ryan and my sister."

"Holy sh-" Natalie began before stopping herself. "They speak freaking _perfect_ Italian. I know I have an accent because I'm American, but they speak just like Ryan does." She smiled. "It's hot."

Damon chuckled. "Thanks. Our parents made sure we learned Italian and our uncle continued teaching us after they died."

"So how old are you?" Max asked both brothers somewhat suspiciously.

"I'm 24 and Stefan is 18." Damon answered as everyone continued their meals.

After lunch and dessert, Jen took Ryan and Dani outside with JD and Stefan at Ryan's request while Damon stayed in the parlor with Natalie and Max drinking some of his bourbon.

"So why didn't you two want to go outside with everyone else?" Damon asked leaning back against the couch casually.

"We wanted to speak to you." Max shrugged. "So we heard all about why Jenny had to go through the pregnancy with _your_ child all by herself. You had a tragic accident and suffered amnesia, understandable." The bitter tone in his voice was clear as his green eyes glared daggers at Damon.

'_Jenny?' _Damon rolled his eyes. "Look, I get that you're pissed off that Jen had to suffer all alone, but there was nothing I could do! There's nothing I _can_ do! Things were completely out of my control." Damon's blue eyes narrowed. "Jen forgave me and she was the one in the situation, not _you_, so who the fuck do you think you are?" He stood up and glared at the blonde man, who narrowed his eyes more. "Ok, you like Jen's brother and you care for her. That's great, but there's no reason for you to hold a fucking grudge when Jen's forgiven me so just let it the fuck go!" Damon all but growled as Max stood up meeting him eye to eye as Natalie simply watched.

"Yes, I'm fucking pissed!" Max screamed. "I know Jen forgave you because she fucking loves you! She loves you more than anything except her son! She loves you too damn much to tell you what she went through when she was having JD! I bet you guys haven't even really talked about her pregnancy, did you?" The two men glared at each other.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Damon asked through gritted teeth.

Natalie rolled her eyes and sipped her bourbon. "Ok, boys. Take a seat and calm down. Max, maybe you should let me explain this part."

"Why should I?" Damon glared at her as Max sat down. "Jen told me about when she found out that she was having JD, about when she felt him kick the first time, about-"

Natalie held up her hand, effectively cutting him off. "Did she tell you how she was physically? Did she tell you about how she was emotionally where JD _wasn't_ involved?" She arched an eyebrow and Damon shook his head, falling back into his seat.

"She was weak and depressed." Max answered in his sister's place. "When she found out, she was already three months and underweight to be pregnant. The doctor was afraid that her body wouldn't hold the baby, which wasn't surprising because for the first two months all she could do was cry. She barely ate and barely slept. She lost 15 pounds in those two months." He sighed and looked down.

Damon gulped as guilt burst in his heart. '_Why didn't she tell me?'_

"She had to take extra supplements along with her prenatal vitamins." Natalie added. "Jen didn't sleep well at night so our mom made her start coming in for some sessions, she's a shrink. With her help, Jen was able to deal with and overcome the depression because she couldn't take any actual anti-depressants."

"Her health and JD's had to be watched carefully. She almost lost him twice." Max ran a hand through his hair and then looked back up at Damon. "JD was born premature at 35 weeks. He was really little and really weak."

Damon's heart dropped into his stomach and his stomach into his feet as guilt overwhelmed him completely. He couldn't picture losing his son after finding him, much less having a chance of losing him at any point in 8 months. "I-" He began only to stop in order to find the words. "I… She… She never told me that." He admitted n a barely audible tone.

"Of course not!" Max yelled with fury in his eyes. "Jen loves you! The only person she loves in this world more than you is JD! She would never pour this on you and make you feel guilty, but you _deserve_ to feel guilty! You deserve to feel her pain and you deserve to know what she suffered through because of what you did to her!" He stood up and got into Damon's face. "She lost her future because of you!" Damon opened his mouth to speak, but Max continued. "Did you know that she was valedictorian? She scored a 2300 on her SATs! She was going to study law at Harvard, but she disappeared! When she came back, it was too late to go to school and she was fucking pregnant with _your_ kid while you weren't even there to help her!" Tears filled Max's green eyes and Damon could see that he was remembering everything that Jen had been through.

Damon gulped. '_I didn't… She…_' He couldn't find enough words to justify himself or even properly convey his apology so he closed himself instead. Damon narrowed his eyes. "If Jen wanted me to know this, she would've fucking told me. You don't get to come into _my_ house and make me feel like shit! I honestly don't give a damn about your acceptance or your forgiveness. Jen forgave me and is letting me be in JD's life now. That's all that matters." He crossed his arms.

Before Max could speak up, everyone else walked into the room and JD ran over to him. "Uncle Max, you should've come outside with us. There are lots of flowers outside and daddy promised that when it gets warmer, we can get a pool." He chatted excitedly.

Max smiled. All traces of anger gone from his face. "That's great, kiddo." He hugged him tightly.

"We should get going." Ryan shrugged. "It's a long drive home."

Jen frowned. "I can't believe you guys drove up here just for the day."

"Well, my parents are actually celebrating their anniversary tomorrow at their cabin in North Carolina so we're driving down there and staying there till Tuesday." Dani answered with a small smile.

Jen nodded her acceptance with a smile and hugged her friend. "Tell them I wished them a happy anniversary."

"I will." Dani hugged back. "I miss you, Jen."

"I miss you too, Dani." Jen responded as they pulled back. "I miss all of you." Tears filled her eyes.

"We'll visit again, and you better visit us!" Natalie pulled Jen into a hug. "Tall, dark and blue-eyed better not keep you to himself." She grumbled and everyone laughed as the 2 young women broke apart.

"Jen is free to come and go as she pleases, and you all can visit whenever you want." Damon said with his typical smirk.

"You're a decent guy, Damon." Ryan shook Damon's hand. "Prenditi cura di lei."

"lo faro." Damon nodded as Dani walked over to him and Ryan hugged Jen and JD goodbye.

"It's was wonderful to meet you, Damon." She hugged him, catching him off guard. "I can tell that you're a good guy." She whispered in his ear and then pulled back as her husband approached.

"You better take care of her." Max narrowed his eyes as Dani moved to say goodbye Jen and JD. "If you hurt her or him, or make her go through the pain that she went through before? No one will ever find your body, got it?"

"I got it." He gave him a sarcastic, uninterested smile. Max rolled his eyes and walked away as Natalie approached.

"You make her happy, really happy. Keep it that way or Max will be the least of your problems." Natalie smiled, her sickeningly sweet tone doing nothing to hide the seriousness of her threat. She pulled a yellow envelope out of her tote bag and handed it to him. "After everything you heard today, I'm guessing you feel pretty shitty so whenever you're ready? You can open this." She gave him a slightly sympathetic smile before walking away.

As Jen walked her friends to the door, Damon quickly made his way up into his room and put away the envelope, but he couldn't stop thinking about what could possibly be in it. A knock on his doorframe broke him out of his thoughts and he turned to find Jen leaning against it with a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?" She arched an eyebrow.

He smiled easily. "It's nothing."

Jen walked over to him with an eye-roll. "Yeah, right. You must have something going on in your brain because being alone with Nat and Max could _not _have been easy." She sighed and sat next to him on the bed. "Damon, whatever they said to you-" She began but he cut her off.

"You were going to go Harvard." He said casually as shame knotted in his chest again. "You were valedictorian…" He chuckled humorously.

"Damon…" She placed a hand on his shoulder as realization hit her. They'd told him the entire truth of her pregnancy. "It's not your fault. What happened was-"

"Jen, don't." He stood up. "I can't do this right now. I need a drink." He walked out of his room and rushed down the stairs as she followed.

"Damon, wait please!" She begged as he opened the front door.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Jen, I'm not _that guy_ anymore." His eyes were distant as he looked at her and she stopped in her tracks.

"Damon…" She whispered and he ran off at vampire speed.

A few hours later, Damon was sitting at the bar in the Grille as he downed another drink. '_Man, Ric… I really wish you were here…'_

"Well I didn't think you'd be free yet." He heard Elena's voice behind him.

When he turned around to face her, his eyes widened. Her hair had red streaks and stylish layered waves; she was wearing tighter jeans, a tight purple top and a leather jacket. "Damn…" He smirked. "You like great, very vampy." He winked and she smiled.

"I'm glad you like it. Caroline thought that I should update my look to be more '_vampy'_." She said between air quotes.

"Then," he put his hands on the bar and stood up, "let's put that vampy new look to good use and practice your control." He gave a crooked smile.

'_There's my Damon.'_ She thought with a wide smile. "Let's do it."

An hour later, Damon and Elena were in a club in Richmond looking for someone for Elena to feed on. "How about him?" Damon pointed to a blonde haired frat boy.

"He's pretty cute." She shrugged, but I'm looking for someone a little manlier. I want hot, not cute."

Damon chuckled. "I like this new Elena. She's bold." They reached the bar and the bartender walked over to them. "Bourbon, please."

"How about you?" The tattooed bartender turned to Elena.

"Three shots please." She answered with a flirty smile.

"You got it." The bartender winked.

"Now you're getting' how this works." Damon smirked.

"Well I had a good teacher." She chuckled as the bartender brought over their drinks. "Thanks." She winked, taking her drink and the bartender walked away.

"Now," Damon took a sip of his drink. "Let's find someone for you to snack on." His eyes quickly roamed the room as he continued sipping his bourbon.

"Him." Elena pointed to a man that looked to be around Damon's physical age, who had brown hair and brown eyes.

"Not bad." He chuckled. "Go for it." He nodded in the guy's direction.

Elena turned to him with worried eyes. "You won't let me kill him, right?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Always with the doubts… Of course I won't let you kill him, Elena. I know that it would destroy the humane, moralistic martyr side of you." He gave a cynical, crooked smile.

This time Elena rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Damon." She made her way over to the guy and immediately began flirty with him as Damon watched with a smile and listened with his vampire hearing.

"_Care to dance?" She asked tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear._

"_Isn't your boyfriend over there going to mind?" The man asked with a cocky smirk._

_Elena threw back her head and laughed. "He's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend. He won't mind."_

'_Just a friend…' _His mind repeated. Damn, did he hate those words. They were like a knife to his chest.

"_Then I wouldn't mind a dance with you at all, gorgeous." The guy took Elena's hand and they began dancing sensually against each other as a new song began to play and lights flashed all across the room._

When the song was over, Elena turn to face the guy and whispered in his ear,_ "Let's go somewhere… alone." _Her voice was low and so sexy that it turned Damon on.

The guy quickly nodded his agreement and Elena glanced at Damon, signaling him to follow. Damon followed Elena and her prey to the alley next to the club at a safe distance. When he reached them, he found Elena with her fangs already buried in the guy's neck and he was clearly enjoying it.

'_A predatory Elena… very hot.'_ Damon smiled as he watched her feed. He let her feed for a few more minutes and walked over to her. "That's enough, Elena." He whispered in her ear, but she didn't stop. "Elena." He called out again. "Let go." He whispered huskily into her ear and she removed her teeth from her victim's neck and licked the wound. "Great job, Elena." He kissed her neck and moved her aside. Damon bit his wrist, fed the guy his blood and compelled him. "You're gonna go home and not remember anything about tonight because you drank too much."

"I'm gonna go home and not remember anything about tonight because I drank too much." The man repeated monotonously before walking away.

Damon looked back at Elena, who still had her vampire face on and blood dripping down her chin. "Damn…" He smirked as Elena walked over to him with a smile. "So how was he?"

"Delicious, wanna taste?" She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Sure." He wrapped his around her waist and she kissed him deeply. Damon returned the kiss with fervor as the taste of Elena mixed with the taste of the guy's blood. He moaned softly as their tongues entwined. Damon's hands ran up and down her back as hers moved into his hair. He loved the feel of her body pressed against his. '_I can't believe this is happening.'_ He pulled her impossibly closer, wanting more of her. "Elena." He pulled back slightly. "Let's get out of here." His eyes twinkled with lust and love.

"Ok." She nodded with a smile.

Damon took her hand and they ran back to Mystic Falls at vampire speed. Their bodies slammed into the front door as they came together in a heated kiss. Elena tore open Damon's shirt as he gripped her ass and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His lips trailed down her neck as she threw her head back with a moan.

"Damon…" He loved how his name fell from her lips.

"Let's get you upstairs." He smirked as he zoomed them to his room, and then laid her flat on his bed. "God, you're beautiful." He lay on top of her as they began to remove each other's clothing.

"You're amazing, Damon." Elena remarked as she flipped them over, straddling him.

The sun had just begun rising when Damon rolled off of Elena as both of them were panting and lay next to her. "Wow…" He smiled over at Elena.

Her hair was a mess, her body was covered in a sheen of sweat and her face was flushed. She was beautiful. "Damon… that was… wow." She smiled widely.

"Well I _am me._" He smirked and she laughed. "See what you've been missing while you were fucking Saint Stefan?"

Elena's face blanched. "Oh my God, Stefan!"

"Relax, Elena." Damon rolled his eyes. "Saint Stefan is out hunting tonight." Elena said nothing as pulled the sheets up to her chest and she sat up. "What are you doing?"

"I have to get out of here." She dropped the sheet and began putting on her clothes.

"Why?" Damon frowned as he rested his head on his elbow.

"Because of Stefan," She looked at him as if it was an obvious answer and Damon's face twisted into one of anger.

"Of course," Damon laughed humorously. '_She used me…'_ He rolled his eyes. "It's always Stefan, right Elena?"

"Damon," she looked at him apologetically. "I care about you, but-"

"Yeah, yeah," He interrupted. "You love _him_. I get it."

"Damon," She attempted only to be cut off again.

"You know the way out the door, right Elena?" He lay on his back and put an arm over his eyes.

He heard an exasperated sighed, her footsteps, and then the door open and close. '_I shouldn't be this surprised…'_ He sighed. '_But it doesn't hurt any less.'_

**Ok guys, that's it. It's a little shorter than usual, but going any farther would've made it waaay too long because there really wouldn't be a good place for me to end the chapter. I really hope you guys liked it.**

**Here's how I pictured Jen's friends:**

**Natalie Marshall: **Dianna Agron

**Max Marshall: **William Moseley

**Danielle Marshall: **Alexis Bledel

**Ryan Biancardi: **Jeremy Sumpter

**Luke Pierce: **Luke Benward

**Now I have a little request ;). Any of you guys reading, favoriting and reviewing, PM any memories that you want to see Damon remember of Jen. I'd really like you guys' inputs on that.**

**Thanks so much for reading! Please review!**

**Major J.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here it is the next chapter everyone!**

_Disclaimer: I __**DO NOT **__own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters, but the plot and any original characters are mine! No copyright infringement intended. It's just fun to play with the characters ;)_

_This chapter came inspired by a song: Payphone - Maroon 5_

* * *

_**Chapter Five**_

Damon lay awake in bed until he heard Jen get up, do her morning routine and head downstairs. His eyes widened. '_Oh fuck, Jen!'_ He rubbed his eyes. '_God I hope she didn't hear anything.'_ He thought as he made his way to the shower.

One hour later once he was dressed for the day, he walked into JD's room. The little boy was tucked carefully in his bed, hugging a light brown teddy bear with a baby blue bow around its neck. He smiled and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. He ran a hand through the little boy's hair, and then leaned down to kiss JD's forehead. "I love you, kiddo." He whispered softly into his son's hair and stood up.

He made his way to the kitchen silently, knowing that unsurprisingly Jen would be there making breakfast. It had become routine at the boarding house for him to wake up and already find her in the kitchen, making breakfast for everyone in the house and the guests that they usually had now in the mornings. Just as promised, Caroline, Matt and Jeremy came over every morning and Bonnie came over three times a week, but when he walked into the kitchen this time he _was_ surprised.

Jen was dressed in a simple graphic t-shirt and a pair of jean, which wasn't unusual, but there were 3 times the amount of pancakes she usually made sitting on the counter top, her eyes were red and there were dark circles under her eyes. '_It looks like she was up all night… Fuck… I really hope she didn't hear anything last night or this morning.'_ He plastered his charming smile on his face and walked over to her. "Good morning."

"Morning." She responded, and yes he did notice that she hadn't said _good_. She didn't even look up from the bacon she was frying.

"Are you expecting an army over for breakfast?"He teased, pointing to all the pancakes.

"I got a little carried away." The tone of her voice was annoyed.

'_Maybe I can lighten the mood a bit.'_ He thought as his brain processed what he could say. "You look like hell." He joked. "After the long ass day we had yesterday, I expected you to be out like a light. It looks like you were up all night."

She let out a half-hearted laugh. "It's the curse of being a mother, Damon." She rolled her eyes and finally turned to look at him. "After JD was born, I became an insanely light sleeper." She smiled sarcastically.

He face-palmed. "Jen, I'm sorry I-"

"Don't, Damon." She rolled her eyes. "I honestly don't give a shit that you and Elena fucked last night and into the morning."

'_Lie.'_ His mind called out. He could hear the stutter of her hear when she said that, but he allowed her to continue speaking.

"What I _do_ care about is that you left and didn't make it back to tuck JD in." She crossed her arms. "There's something you need to know about children, Damon. Children like and _need_ routine. It makes them feel safe especially little kids. Daddy being there to tuck him into bed is part of JD's routine. He depends on it and expects it now. He knows that you weren't the before, but now that you are? His biggest fear is that one day Daddy won't be there or come back." She narrowed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "It took me over an hour to get him to fall asleep because he wanted to stay up and wait for you. I'm afraid he's going to end up with abandonment issues." She shook her head.

Damon sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Jen. I didn't mean to upset you." The double apology was clear.

"Damon, you don't have to apologize to me." She rolled her eyes. "You don't owe me any sort of explanation or fealty. You can do _whatever_ you want with _whomever_ you want. I'm not upset. You owe JD an apology. That's all that matters."

'_Lie.' _Her heart gave her away again, but he wasn't gonna let it go this time. "Don't lie to me." He narrowed his eyes.

"Ok," She chuckled. "Vampire sex is loud so next time be a little more considerate. I like to sleep."

Damon scoffed. She was deflecting. "Bullshit, Jen. I've been where you are. Hell, I _am_ where you are. She didn't even stay the whole night with me. She left because she didn't want _Saint Stefan_ to know." He spat venomously. "I should've been more considerate. You deserve that much, but I should've known better. I should've known better than to sleep with her, but I was pissed and upset so I did what I always do. Got drunk and got laid." He shrugged and looked away. "I fucked up your future and then you had to face the consequences alone. You should've told me! Why didn't you tell me?!" He questioned accusingly.

"So you could feel guilt over something that you had absolutely _no_ control over? Why would I do that to you, Damon?" She retorted with a glare. "And you did _not_ screw up my future! I knew exactly what I was doing when I got involved with you, Damon! I _knew_ there were no preservatives and that there was a chance that I could get pregnant, but I didn't care! All I cared about was being with you because I loved you, Damon." She whispered the last part and turned her back to him.

"You still do." The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them and she tensed.

She looked at him over her shoulder. "What?" Her voice was barely over a whisper and her eyes were wide. She'd never actually said the words to him since seeing him again. Sure, her feelings were implied, a big elephant in the room that they ignored, but never acknowledged out loud between them.

"You still love me, right?" This time his voice held conviction. "Max told me you did, but I want to hear it from _you_." He crossed his arms. "Do you still love me? Even if I ruined your dreams of going to Harvard, and being a lawyer? Even if I got you kicked out of your house? Even if you suffered through depression because of me?"

She turned around with a glare. "Let me ask _you_ a question, Damon. How often did you tell Elena that you loved her using the words _I love you_? What was it like to admit it the first time?" She walked towards him, her sadness converting into a wall. "It was hell, right? You didn't wanna make her feel guilty or obligated to return your feelings. You admitted it though, but you had a loophole. You _compelled _her." Jen arched an eyebrow and Damon's eyes widened.

"How the hell did you know that?" He sure as hell hadn't told her.

"It's part of the income of information." She shrugged as if it was nothing. "Now if you didn't want to put Elena through that because you love her, why would you ask me to do that to _you_?"

Sure, that was pretty much an admittance of her feelings, but he wanted to hear the words, _needed_ to hear the words. "Because the difference between Elena and I is that she didn't want to acknowledge my feelings, but _I do_. I want to hear you say it. I need to." The sincerity radiated off him.

Her eyes widened and the wall that was holding her up, started to crumble. She stepped back, shaking her head furiously as a lump formed in her throat. "Damon, please don't make me." Her voice broke as tears threatened spill.

_*Flashback*_

_Damon and Jennifer were enjoying the autumn breeze in the garden at the Salvatore Manor. Jennifer was reading a book under a golden-leaved tree. He watched her throw her head back with a laugh._

'She's so beautiful… How did I get so lucky?'_He thought with a smile as she looked up at him._

"_What could you possibly be looking at for so long, Mister Salvatore?" She asked teasingly as he walked to her._

_He chuckled and took a seat next to her. "Just the most beautiful woman in the world." He kissed her softly. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I am _never_ giving you up." He whispered, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "I promise."_

_Tears filled her brown eyes. "Damon…" She leaned into his touch, but never tore her eyes away from his crystal blue ones that shone with his love for her._

"_I love you, Jennifer." He smiled, saying the words for the first time. "I love you more than anything on this earth."_

_She smiled with teary eyes. "I love you too, Damon. You're everything to me."_

_No more words were need as his lips touched hers once again._

_*Flashback End*_

Damon blinked his eyes rapidly. She really _did_ love him, and once upon a time he loved her too, more than anything.

"Damon, are you ok?" Her voice snapped him back to reality.

"I'm fine." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jen. You can tell me when you feel like you can open yourself up to me again. Promise me you won't be afraid. Promise me you'll be honest because I'll never push you away for feeling the way you feel. I know all too well what that's like." He looked down at the ground, took a breath and looked back up. "Promise me." His eyes were as hard as his voice.

"Only if you promise me the same." She crossed her arms. "Promise me that you'll open up to me about your feelings because you _know_ that I'd never judge you for how you feel."

Damon shouldn't have been surprised by her conditions, but he was anyways. A tense silence came between them and only broke as footsteps came from the foyer.

"Everything ok between mom and dad?" Jeremy asked jokingly having noticed the tension in the room as Caroline, Matt, Elena and Stefan followed him into the room.

Damon and Jen both let out awkward chuckles. "Everything's fine." Jen answered with a smile. "You guys are just in time. I just finished breakfast."

Damon nodded at Jen, his silent agreement to their negotiation, and she nodded back. "I'm gonna go get JD." He gave her a crooked smile and walked out.

"I'll set table for you, Jen." Stefan offered as he began pulling plates out of the cabinet.

"Thanks, Stefan." She gave him a grateful smile which he returned with a kind smile of his own.

"I'll help you, Stefan." Elena went to his side and got the cups.

"Damn, Jen. That's a lot of food." Matt chuckled. "Did you invite half of Mystic Falls over for breakfast?" He asked making everyone laugh.

"I got a little carried away this morning." Jen apologized between laughs. "I was distracted."

"Ooo," Caroline sing-songed. "By Damon?" She smirked.

Jen rolled her eyes. "Not exactly."

"Right…" Caroline said sarcastically. "So Jen, have you decided if you are going to college or going to work?" She asked as she helped Jen carry the food to the table.

"Um…" Jen hesitated. "I'm not going back to school just yet."

"What were you going to go to school for?" Jeremy asked as everyone took their seats.

Jen shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Talking about her previous aspirations was hard enough without it being to people that she barely knew.

"She was going to Harvard to study law." Damon answered on her behalf as he walked into the kitchen holding a fully dressed JD's hand. Jen looked over at him appalled and saw a cocky smirk on his face. "You shouldn't hide your intelligence. You're a smart girl. You _were_ nerd number one of your graduating class."

Jennifer blushed and rolled her eyes. "Haha…" She laughed sarcastically as Damon slipped JD into his booster seat between the 2 of them.

"Good morning, Mommy." The little boy smiled widely.

"Good morning, baby." She kissed each of his cheeks and his forehead.

"Nerd number one?" Jeremy looked confused.

"Valedictorian," Jennifer corrected shyly.

"Seriously?" Caroline asked, surprised. "Man, I'm just an average student, barely." She giggled.

"What was your GPA?" Elena asked curiously.

"Uh…" Jen stuttered. "It was so long ago… I don't even remember."

"Lie." "You're lying." Damon and Caroline said at the same time, making her frown.

"Really?" She arched an eyebrow.

"They're not wrong." Stefan added with a chuckle.

"Not you too, Stefan." Jen groaned with a small smile.

"Just tell us. It's no biggie." Caroline chirped.

Jen huffed in surrender. "It was a 4.7, can we eat now?" Everyone's jaws dropped, except for Damon's. He figured that if she got a 2300 on her SATs she must've had a high grade point average. Jeremy moved to speak and Jen held up her hand. "Unless you're opening your mouth to stuff food in it, I don't wanna hear it. I have _no_ idea what I want to do with myself anymore, ok? Pre-law and law school will take me away from my son so it's not happening." She ended the conversation effectively as Matt and Jeremy exchanged accepting glances as Caroline and Elena did the same with each other. Damon and Stefan had impressed smiles on their faces.

'_She's definitely a Petrova.'_ Stefan chuckled at her 'no nonsense or argument' behavior as everyone continued eating their breakfasts.

"I swear I'm so glad I'm a vampire now because if I wasn't I'd have gained like a hundred pounds since you've moved here, Jen." Caroline fanned herself. "You're an amazing cook."

Jen laughed. "Thanks, Caroline."

"I think I _will_ gain a hundred pounds." Matt added with a pat to his belly and everyone laughed.

"Jen, JD is going out with the guys today, ok?" Damon looked at her for her agreement.

"The guys?" She looked at him skeptically.

He rolled his eyes with a smile. "Stefan, Jeremy and I." He amended.

"Ok." She laughed. "And what exactly will you three being doing on this guys' day out?"

"Man things." He smirked, making her arch an eyebrow. He couldn't help, but tease her a little. "You know typical sports and stuff. We'll be in Richmond, just a call, and an hour and half away." He added to reassure her.

She smiled. "That's fine." She knew this was his way of making things up to JD. "I'll go pack the bag for him and you guys finish cleaning up down here." She walked out.

"And then you can come out with me." Caroline added loud enough for Jen to hear.

"OK, Caroline!" Jen yelled from the stairs as the vampires heard her footsteps upstairs.

"Come on, kiddo." Damon picked JD up. "Let's go make sure that your mom doesn't over-pack." He chuckled, walking out of the kitchen.

"They're a cute little family, huh?" Caroline smiled at the others as the 3 vampires began cleaning at vampire speed.

"It's a little weird actually." Jeremy shrugged. "But nice." He added with a cheeky smile.

"I haven't seen Damon this happy in so long." Stefan smiled happily. "If he was ever _this _happy." He was truly happy to see more of the old Damon from 1864 resurfacing in his brother. He, as well, had begun getting more and more memories of an 1864 that included Jen, and he remembered how happy his brother once was.

"He actually seems human." Matt joked with a chuckle.

"It's nice to see Damon's humanity more openly." Elena smiled. This was the side of Damon that she loved most. "So what are you going to do with Jen, Caroline?"

"Just talk to her about a few things, like her permanent stay here in Mystic Falls." Caroline answered with a smile as Jen, Damon and JD returned.

"Ready to go?" Stefan looked at the trio. Damon was chuckling, Jen was rolling her eyes and JD was giggling.

"Yes, Uncle Stef." The little boy answered still giggling and Jen handed Damon a messenger type bag.

"What happened?" Elena arched an eyebrow curiously.

"Jen was going to pack half of JD's clothes into his bag," He held up the bag. "I'm glad we went up there to stop her, right kiddo?" He smirked at his mini-me.

"Right, Daddy." JD nodded, still giggling which mad all the grown-ups laugh as well, even his mother. "Mommy put a _lot_ of clothes in my bag."

"Haha," Jen rolled her eyes. "I'm just making sure all the basics are covered." She walked over to the refrigerator, pulled out a small Ziploc bag of baby carrots and juice boxes.

"What are you doing?" Damon sighed.

"Packing some snacks." She answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She pulled out an insulated Avengers lunchbox, a tiny bag of chips and put some Cheerios in a Ziploc as well.

"Jen, we'll eat while we're there." Damon put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's just in case, Damon. With kids, you must _always_ be prepared." She proceeded to pack everything into the lunchbox and he saw and odd look on her face.

"Are you ok, Jen?" He turned her to face him.

"I'm a little nervous." She admitted after taking a breath. "I've never been away from JD for anything other than work."

Damon's eyes widened slightly. "Really?" He couldn't believe it and she nodded her answer. "He never out with just Max and Ryan or Natalie?"

She shook her head. "JD never went anywhere without me. The circumstances of his birth made things really hard to be away from him and it went on to when he got older." She explained pushing a loose curl behind her ear. "Now I'm a little nervous."

Damon chuckled. "That's typical mom behavior." He threw an arm around her shoulders.

"How would _you_ know?" She asked with an arched brow.

A smirked formed on his face. "I'll tell you some other time, but don't worry." He assured. "Between Stefan, Jeremy and me, we can handle JD. He's a good kid." He picked up said toddler. "You'll be good right, JD?"

"Yes, Daddy." He nodded with a smile.

Damon smiled and looked back at Jen. "See? Everything will be fine." He reassured, earning a smile from the human Petrova descendant.

"Ok." She surrendered. "What time will you be back?"

"Six at the latest." He promised. "If it changes I'll call you."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Then I guess I'll see you guys at six." She smiled.

"Ok," Jeremy clapped his hands together. "Let's get going!"

Jen pulled JD into her arms closely and hugged him tightly. "Baby, be good ok? Listen to everything your daddy tells you." She whispered into his ear.

JD nodded. "I will, Mommy. I promise."

She pulled back and smiled. "I know you will, sweetie." She handed him back to Damon with worry etched all over her face. "Take care of my baby.

Damon gave her a small smile. "Relax, woman" He teased. "I'll take care of him. He's my kid too."

"I know." She sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't trust you, Damon. It's just that-"

"You're suffering from mommy separation anxiety." He teased, making her and the others chuckle.

"I guess." She sighed, still chuckling. "Now go before I panic and change my mind." She smirked.

"Ok, we're going." Damon laughed. "Say by to your mom, JD before she decides to keep you to herself." Damon's blue eyes sparkled with amusement and JD giggled.

"Bye, Mommy." He waved eagerly. "We can go now." He said excitedly.

Damon smiled genuinely at Jen. "Bye, Jen and don't worry. I'll bring our son back whole." His eyes looked into her and an unspoken exchange went on between them.

"Bye, Damon." She replied with a small, almost shy smile. '_How does he manage to reduce me to that nervous little 18 year old girl with just a look and that smile of his?'_ She pushed those thoughts aside.

"Bye, Jen. Thanks for breakfast." Jeremy smiled. "Later, Matt. See ya, Caroline. Bye 'Lena." He waved at his friends and hugged his sister quickly as to no tempt her.

"Bye, Jeremy." "See ya, Jer." Matt and Caroline said at the same time.

"Be careful." Elena advised. "Don't do anything too crazy or stupid." She looked at Damon with a slightly wary look.

Damon scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh please, Elena. You seriously think we're gonna have a wild guys' day with my kid with us?" He bit back the string of _fuck you's_ that was dying to slip out of his mouth. Did she truly think so lowly of him?

Elena actually looked at him apologetically, but Jen spoke up before she could fully apologize. "Elena seriously, how much of that type of fun could they actually have with JD there?" She crossed her arms and looked at the younger Petrova with that typical 'reprimanding mother look' on her face. "Damon's a fantastic father. Give him a little more credit." Her voice was between exasperated and annoyed.

Caroline, Jeremy and Matt looked at each other surprised. It wasn't often that someone defended Damon or that Elena was scolded. They didn't know which one was more surprising.

Stefan looked upon the 2 parents curiously. Part of him was surprised and part of him wasn't. He knew Jen loved his brother. He could see it now and in the memories from the past that had begun to surface of the two of them smiling, laughing, holding hands and even the personal memories the he had of her of moments when they would discuss literature, law and art. He hoped that someday his brother would be able to love that way again. "We should get going." Stefan broke the awkward silence. "See ya, Matt. Don't worry, Jen. My nephew is in great hands." He smiled assuring, quietly siding with her before turning to Elena. "Bye, Elena." He kissed her cheek and the 3 men walked out.

"Ok, go change." Caroline pushed Jen towards the stairs before the tense silence could settle in the room again. "We have to go out."

"Ok, ok," Jen chuckled and went upstairs.

"So what are you doing today?" Caroline turned to her best friend.

"Bonnie and I are hanging out." Elena shrugged with an angry look on her face.

"What's with the grumpy face?" Caroline poked her side.

Elena sighed. "It's just… Who the hell does she think she is, scolding me like I'm some little kid? All I wanted to do was make sure that my little brother was gonna be safe just like she was with her son." Anger bubbled in Elena as she tried to push it down. The overwhelming vampire emotions were starting to get the best of her.

"Calm down, Elena." Caroline put a hand on her shoulder. "She was defending Damon because she cares about him, and let's be honest 'Lena. She knows a side of Damon that only Stefan knows, the human side of him. It's the side of him that's been slowly peeking out since she and JD moved in. It's kinda nice seeing that side of him." Caroline explained. "She has feeling for him, Elena. We all know that and she defended him because she thought you were being unfair with him, and you kinda _were_, but you come before Damon to me and Damon's a dick sometimes so I just didn't say anything." She shrugged. "But to Jen? JD obviously comes first and, naturally, Damon comes second. He's her first love and the father of her baby. Don't take it too hard. I guess now Damon has more than Stefan and you to lean on, even he and Jeremy have been getting closer though. I think she sees farther into Damon than any of us, even Stefan."

Elena stood there and absorbed Caroline's blunt words. '_She's right_.' She couldn't fault Jen for defending Damon when she fought for Stefan even through his ripper phase. She just wasn't used to being called out for questioning Damon's behavior and intentions. It was something that she did, that just about everyone did and no one ever challenged or questioned it. "I guess you're right." She sighed. "I'm gonna go and meet with Bonnie. See ya, Care.

* * *

Jen and Caroline were walking around the town square with the sun shining brightly above them. "So what'd you want to talk about?" Jen looked at the young blond curiously.

"Well I think your baking is so good and I don't think that it's fair that only a small group of people get to try it." Caroline responded vaguely with a shrug.

"What are you talking about?" Jen furrowed her eyebrows.

Caroline took a breath. "My mom has this friend, Layla Fell, who owns the only bakery here in Mystic Falls. She's been working there practically on her own since she opened it. All she has is someone to work the cash register, but she's always done all the baking. A lot of the recipes have been in the Fell family for generations and the others are all recipes are recipes donated by members of other founding families who didn't have much interest in keeping them." She explained as they continued to walk.

"Where exactly are you going with this, Caroline?" Jen asked with a smirk even though she had a good idea.

"Well, Layla's pretty old now, and she came over for dinner yesterday telling mom and me that she was having a hard time taking care of the business alone and I immediately thought of you. Before I could stop myself, I told her about how you well you bake and stuff. Now, she wants to meet you." She finished with a sheepish smile.

Jennifer laughed at Caroline's antics. "That actually sounds really great, Caroline."

"Really?" The young blonde squeaked and Jen nodded. "That's awesome! I _knew_ you'd be up for it, Jen!" She hugged Jen tightly and pulled back. "You can stop by anytime tomorrow and Layla will be there."

"Thanks, Caroline. This is really nice of you." Jen smiled gratefully.

"It's no problem, Jen." Caroline gave her a smile. "Having you and JD around has made Damon a bit _less_ of an asshole."

Jen laughed. "Well regardless of how I affect Damon, I really _am_ grateful to you, Caroline. It's really nice of you."

"It's no biggie." Caroline chuckled. "I've been trying to understand what you see in Damon besides his dashing good looks. What did or do you see in him, Jen? He's such a dick."

Jen chuckled and shook her head. "That's exactly what he wants you to think, Caroline. Damon always had his usual smartass attitude Caroline. He was fun and free-spirited, which when joined with how hurt and jaded he became after he became a vampire, turned into rashness and self destruction. He's been hurt a lot, Caroline." She sighed. "I don't know if you know, but I know pretty much everything that's happened to Damon since my return to my present. His time here in Mystic Falls has been good because it brought back his humanity, but he's been hurt a lot here as well." Caroline opened her mouth to protest, but Jen continued before she could speak. "Yes, I know he's fucked up a lot, and he hurt you, but he's done a lot of good as well and he has feelings too. Everyone he knows here is Elena's friend and on Elena's side. I have nothing against Elena, I swear," the sincerity was clear in her voice, "but she's hurt him a lot and no one's called her out on it. No matter what Damon's done, no one deserves to be treated the way he has been. If it were someone else treating Elena, Bonnie or even Jeremy that way, wouldn't you say something." Caroline nodded somewhat guiltily. "Exactly, but Elena's only one of many things that has turned Damon into the jaded asshole that you know today."

Caroline felt bad. Jen made a good point and as much as she disliked Damon, no one deserved to have their feelings played with. "What else is there? I mean, I know that there's the Katherine situation."

"Yes," Jen nodded. "The Katherine thing in itself, as well as becoming a vampire, solidified and amplified all of Damon's insecurities. Because Katherine was outside the natural world, she continued to remember me after I left 1864. She noticed that Damon saw similarities between her and what his mind remembered of me, and she took advantage of that, of _him_. Then she treated him like shit and threw him away, while openly and cruelly stating that she preferred his brother over him. That was not the first time that Damon had felt that pain, and you know very well that it wasn't the last." Her brown eyes met Caroline's as the younger girl nodded. "Damon's mother died of pneumonia when he was 10 years old and Stefan was 3. Giuseppe was utterly distraught; he loved Laura Salvatore more than anything in the world. After her death, he shunned Damon, who was the spitting image of his mother. He doted on Stefan as if he was an only child, and Damon was always negatively compared to his little brother. No matter what he did, Stefan did it better."

"I heard from Stefan that their dad was an ass." Caroline mentioned casually, though she was craving to know more. Stefan and Damon didn't really talk about their human lives.

"If you wanna know what I think of their dad, Caroline, just ask." Jen chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"What did you think of their dad?"

"Giuseppe was a grade A asshole. He was hard on both of them, but at least he was nice to Stefan. Damon and Stefan got along really well. The only problem between them was that sometimes Stefan sided too much with his father and ignored the difference of treatment between them instead of standing up against his dad. Giuseppe treated Damon like shit because he reminded him too much of his dead wife and Damon was 'too spirited and lacked respect'." She did air quotes. "He treated Damon like shit and he wanted Damon to take it. He hated it when Damon stood up to him. He hated that Damon stood up to him which only made him treat Damon worse." Anger coursed through her as she remembered the way Damon's father treated him. "He treated Stefan like he could do no wrong, while Damon never did anything right in his eyes. While Damon may deny it, I know that all he once wanted was for his dad to be proud of him."

"That so sad…" Caroline truly sympathized with her sire. "And that bitch Katherine did her usually bitchy thing."

Jen let out another laugh. Caroline seemed to have that affect on her recently. "Yeah," She agreed. "Look Caroline, I know Damon did you wrong, and that you and Stefan are very close. I'm not asking you to pretend that Damon didn't do what he did or to be 'Team Damon', but I _am_ asking you to look at Damon a little deeper." Jen's eyes pleaded with Caroline to pull away the blinders.

Caroline nodded. "I'll try." She gave a tentative smile.

"That's all I can ask." Jen smiled in returned.

"Well, well, well, I wouldn't believe it, unless I saw it." A smooth British voice rang from behind them.

The 2 young women turned around and came face to face with Klaus. "What are you doing here, Klaus?" Caroline crossed her arms in an annoyed fashion.

He smirked at Caroline. "There's gossip all over town about Damon _finally_ having a woman show up claim to have had his child." He looked at Jen up and down. "I'm guessing that would be you?"

"Yes." Jen rolled her eyes. "I am the mother of Damon's child."

"And how old are you, dear?" He arched an eyebrow.

"You don't have to answer, Jen." Caroline put a hand on her shoulder then turned to glare at the hybrid. "Go away, Klaus."

"Now why would I do that, love?" He asked her with a crooked smile. "I just want to get to know the supposed mother of Damon's child."

Caroline glared daggers at the Brit. "Too bad." She said through clenched teeth. Even though Caroline was annoyed, Jennifer could see the chemistry between the 2.

"It's fine, Caroline." Jen assured her and stepped forward. "I'm 21 and my name is Jennifer Pierce." She said with a smile knowing that not only her age, but her name was going to surprise him.

He looked at her surprised. "You wouldn't happen to know your family history, would you?"

"Yes, I _am _of the Petrova line." She smirked. "And my son _is_ carrying on the bloodline that means oh so much to you, Klaus."

"Well," He chuckled. "You definitely have that Petrova fire, don't you, dear?"

"And proud of it," She stated with a proud smile.

"So how could you possibly have given birth to his child?" His body got dangerously close to hers as he eyed her suspiciously.

"Magic." She looked at him bored, but her heart hammered in her chest. Even though she knew that he could hear it, she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it on her face. "Time travel super spell. I'm sure that the concept of magic and ancient powerful spells is easy for you to grasp." She smiled.

Klaus took a deep breath and then smiled. "You're a very brave human. I'm impressed."She simply shrugged in response. "Now why would you be sent to the past?"

"Dunno." She shrugged again. "I was and then six months later I was brought back."

"Hm… Interesting. I guess it'll have to do. Lovely to meet you, Jennifer." He nodded to her and then turned his attention to Caroline. "It was most certainly wonderful to see you again, love." He smirked cockily and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Whatever…" She mumbled and Klaus walked away. "Argh, he is so annoying!" She gritted her teeth, making Jen laugh.

"Minus the evil that he's done, I find him rather charming." Jen bumped her shoulder. "That British accent is pretty hot."

"No way!" She shook her head vigorously. "He's totally evil!" She stated vehemently.

'_Is she trying to convince me or herself?'_ Jen fought back the urge to laugh again as they walked to Caroline's car and got in.

"Can I ask you a question?" Caroline asked timidly and Jen nodded her consent as Caroline began the drive back to the boarding house. "I have… this friend. She likes a guy, that's like a bad guy. He's not all bad sometimes, but he's done some really bad things."

"You're not talking about Elena, are you?" Jen asked before she continued.

"No." Caroline shook her head quickly. "It's another friend."

"Ok," Jen nodded. "Continue."

"So the guy that my friend likes he's laid off the bad stuff and he started being really sweet to her. He told her that he really likes her, but she's trying not to like him too. She's also afraid of what her friends will think if she starts dating him." Caroline explained in a single breath. "I figured since you dealt or are dealing with the Damon thing you could give me some advice… so I can tell my friend." She added quickly.

Jen smirked. She knew _exactly_ who Caroline's friend was. "Well on the part of her friends, if he treats her well and makes her happy? That's all they should care about. They don't have to like him, they're not gonna date him. What they _do_ have to do is be supportive of her relationship with him and _not_ rub it in her face if it goes wrong." Jen explained and then placed a hand on Caroline's knee. "On the fighting her feelings part? Take it from someone who knows, fighting what you feel for someone only hurts you and the person. When you start seeing the good in someone, after a while it starts push away the bad. The bad is still there, but it doesn't matter as much anymore."

"What do you mean?" Caroline furrowed her eyebrows.

"When I ended up in 1863, Emily came up to me and said these exact words: "_Live and love as if you were never returning home, but always be conscious that you are._" At first I didn't understand, but after I met Damon, I did. Of course when I first laid eyes on him, I couldn't ignore how handsome he was. Then he started the innuendos and the jokes, which annoyed me, but made me laugh. I noticed how he was when he got angry and didn't like it. I noticed all the negative things first." Jen answered and took a breath before continuing. "Then little by little I started seeing and embracing the good things. Next thing I knew, I had feelings for him. I fought them and that lasted only a month because he finally convinced me into admitting them. One month later, I decided that I loved him." She looked out the window wistfully with a smile on her face.

"You decided?" Caroline's voice brought her back to reality.

"Yes," She nodded. "I believe that although you may find yourself liking someone without noticing, you _choose_ to love them. You _choose_ to accept the good with a bad, even if it's just a friend or something more. You choose whether or not you will accept that person's flaws enough to have them in your life and in your heart."

Caroline parked in the driveway and they sat in silence for a few seconds as Caroline absorbed her words. "That makes a lot of sense." She smiled at Jen. "Thanks for the advice. I'll tell my friend what you said."

Jen opened the car door with a chuckle. "It was my pleasure, Caroline."She stepped out. "Tell your friend she can come to me for advice any time." She winked. The last thing she was before walking away was the shocked look on Caroline's face.

* * *

**Ok people! This is it! I hope you guys liked it! I really did :P**

**Once again, I ask that if you guys have any specific memories between Damon and Jen that you'd like to see just PM me.**

**Please review! Reviews feed my brain ;)**

**Until next week!**

**-****Major J.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so sorry it's so late! I had no internet all of last week and no time to put it up yesterday, but better late than never. ;)**

_Disclaimer: I __**DO NOT **__own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters, but the plot and any original characters are mine! No copyright infringement intended. It's just fun to play with the characters ;)_

* * *

_**Chapter Six**_

Stefan watched fond as his brother and Jeremy ran around the park chasing JD and the little boy let out a squeal when he was finally caught and scooped into his father's arms.

"Finally caught you, little man." He put JD on his shoulders and Jeremy laughed.

"That was fun, Daddy!" JD giggled and Stefan held up the camera that Jen had slipped to him before he left, making him promise to take lots of pictures of Damon and JD. He snapped a picture of the 2 of them smiling widely.

'_How long has it been since Damon was this happy?'_ He asked himself and his mind drifted to their human days when Jen was a permanent fixture in their lives. '_She really brought out the best in him.'_ He smiled again as Damon put JD back down.

Since Jen had moved in, he began to remember her more and more. They would have debates about literature, music and law. She would fight for her point so passionately, which was unorthodox for women back then. She also brought a woman's touch to the Salvatore home that Stefan missed while growing. She would spend time with their cook preparing meals, watching out for both Damon and himself, and sometimes she would even help him understand his brother's behavior. Back then, she became the sister and female figure that Stefan had always wanted and needed in his life. He could see why his brother had fallen in love with her once upon a time.

"Jeremy, will you push me on the swings?" JD took the teen's hand, getting Jeremy's attention.

"Sure, JD." Jeremy chuckled as the little boy began to drag him to the swings and Damon walked over to sit with his brother.

"He's a hyper little kid, huh?" Stefan asked with a laugh.

Damon nodded with a laugh of his own. "Definitely. He kinda reminds me of how you were. All you wanted to do all the time was play."

Stefan was shocked. He hadn't heard Damon talk of their human years, much less their childhood, positively in… well _ever_. "I was?"

"Yeah, it would drive dad and the nanny crazy." Damon smirked. "Dad used to think that it was because _I _was influencing you to be that way." He rolled his eyes.

"Well dad was too much of a dick to you sometimes." Stefan responded softly, surprising Damon.

A silence sat between them for a few minutes, and a middle-aged woman walked up to Damon. "Hi, I'm Rachel." She gave him a flirty smile. "I saw you playing with that little boy over there. He's your son, right?"

A crooked smile formed on Damon's face and Stefan fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, yes he is."

Rachel's smile widened. "It must be hard to be a single father." She said with obviously feigned sympathy and openly glancing at Damon's hand.

'_Probably in search of a ring...'_ Stefan thought to himself with a light shake of his head.

Damon smiled and he heard her heartbeat accelerate. "Actually I'm not." He smirked. "I just brought him out for a boys' day out with my brother and a friend of ours so that she could have a break."

Disappointment covered her face, but she recovered by plastering a fake smile on her face. "That's so nice of you."

"I guess." He shrugged casually. "So where's your kid?"

She looked around awkwardly, but smiled as she pointed to a little boy that looked to be about 4 years old and another looked to be 10. "The oldest is Robbie, he's 10, and Charlie is 4." She explained proudly.

"Wow… and you're raising them by yourself?" Damon mocked admiration and she ate it up.

"Yes, well their dad ran off with some 20 year old bleach blonde 3 years ago." She rolled her eyes, and then looked back at Damon. "You don't seem like that type though."

Damon and Stefan looked at each other, shared a knowing look and smirked. "I'm not, plus Jen is a pretty hot 21 year old herself." He smiled charmingly and Rachel's face dropped as Stefan let out a laugh.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your boys' day." She smiled tensely before walking away.

The brothers looked at each other before they burst into fits of laughter. "Wow… mommy dearest was dying to get into your pants." Stefan said between laughs and they laughed more.

"Tell me about it…" Damon shook his head. "These middle-aged soccer moms are dying to get laid by hot young men like me, Stef." He smirked.

"Unbelievable…"Stefan rolled his eyes as his brother let out another laugh and he couldn't help but join him.

"Do you remember George Lockwood's cousin?" Damon asked once they had both calmed down.

"Yeah… Abigail? What about her?" He looked at him curiously.

"That woman just reminded me of her. She would throw herself at you constantly and you were super shy and awkward because of it. Do you remember?" Damon smirked.

Stefan looked down embarrassedly. "Yeah," he chuckled. "Jen encouraged me a lot to talk to her."

"She did." Damon nodded with a chuckle. "She gave you lots of advice. I remember the day of Honoria Fell's birthday ball and she was helping you fix your hair and your suit so that you could get Abigail's attention."

Stefan laughed. "Yeah, I remember… God, Abigail could _not_ stay away from me. I did everything Jen said and it worked."

"She did give great advice, huh?" Damon mentioned pensively. "I've been remembering more little by little. I thought I'd lost some memories because if my anger after the transition, but the blanks are starting to disappear."

"Me too." Stefan nodded. "I remember the first day she showed up."

Damon's eyes widened. "You do?" This was a memory that he hadn't gotten back quite yet. "What was it like?"

Stefan looked at him with a very Damon-like smile. "You couldn't keep your eyes off of her. You were completely enamored from the moment she stepped out of the carriage."

Damon chuckled, turning his attention back to his son, who was laughing loudly as Jeremy pushed him.

_*Flashback*_

"_Damon, Stefan, come downstairs." Giuseppe ordered as his sons' footsteps could be heard. "We will be receiving another guest. Ms. Katherine's servant has just informed us that the relatives that were on their way to pick up Ms. Katherine have suffered a terrible accident and died. Only their 17 year old daughter survived." Giuseppe explained as the 3 of them went to the porch to greet their new guest._

_Damon watched the carriage pull up and stop in front of the Salvatore house. The driver jumped off and opened the door. Damon's eyes widened as he watched the girl step out. She had olive skin just a shade lighter than Katherine's, but her hair was a darker and richer chocolate brown. Her eyes were deep pools of brown that were filled with fear and confusion, but she was still so beautiful. H e figured that it must've been hard to lose your parents so suddenly. It made him remember how he felt when his mother died and he never wanted anyone to feel that way._

'I'm going to make this girl smile_.' He thought with determination. '_She must lookbeautiful when she smiles…_'His mind couldn't help but wonder. _

_She stepped out of the carriage with the driver's help and Emily guided her to them. "Master Salvatore, this is Ms. Jennifer Pierce, Ms. Katherine's cousin." Emily Bennett introduced._

"_Thank you so much for taking me in like this, Master Salvatore." She her voice was sweet and timid as she bowed her head and curtsied._

"_It's not a problem, dear girl." Giuseppe responded with a smile and a nod. "These are my sons: Stefan and Damon." He pointed to each accordingly._

_Damon watched as she turned her attention to Stefan and his brother took her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Stefan quickly brushed his lips over her knuckles._

"_You as well, Mister Salvatore." She nodded with a gentle smile. Damon couldn't tear his eyes away from her as she turned around to face him and he watched his brother smirk at him._

"_Welcome to Mystic Falls, Ms. Pierce." Damon smiled charmingly as he took her hand in his. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He descended his lips to her hand, never once taking his crystalline eyes away from her pools of melted brown. _

"_You as well, Mister Salvatore." A blush painted her cheeks as a shy smile appeared on her face and she curtsied. _

"_Damon," He corrected with his lips against her hands so softly so that only she heard him._

"_Jennifer." She responded just as softly as he returned to his full height._

_*End Flashback*_

"Damon?" His brother's voice brought him out of the flashback.

"Yeah?" Damon looked at Stefan confused, who was looking at him oddly.

"I've been calling your name for like five minutes. Are you ok?" Stefan looked at him skeptically. "Where were you?"

"Yeah," He nodded and chuckled. "I was in 1863, meeting Jen for the first time." He explained making Stefan smirk. "And you were right…. I _couldn't_ keep my eyes off of her. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen."

Stefan saw a faraway look in his brother's eyes. "I told you." He responded rather cockily.

"Whatever." Damon bumped his shoulder against Stefan's as JD came running over.

"Uncle Stef!" He called out and took his uncle's hand. "Come play Avengers with me! You can be Thor! Jeremy is gonna be the Hulk because he looks like Bruce and I'm gonna be Ironman!" He explained excitedly, tugging on Stefan's hand.

"Go on then, _Thor_." Damon teased, making Jeremy laugh and Stefan roll his eyes as JD dragged him to the playground.

Damon watched as his brother played Thor to JD's Ironman and Jeremy's Hulk. He shook his head with a laugh and noticed Jen's camera sitting on top of JD's bag. Jen must've given it to Stefan when he wasn't looking. He smiled a little. She'd been keen on getting as many pictures with JD as she could even if he didn't know it.

* * *

After a day full day with watching college basketball, playgrounds, enacting Avenger stories, fast food and running, JD was not the only one exhausted. Jen watched from the living room as Damon trotted into the house holding a sleeping JD in one arm and his bag in another with Stefan and Jeremy following behind.

"You guys look exhausted." She greeted with a chuckled as she walked over and pulled her son into her arms.

"Your kid is a hyper kid." Jeremy plopped onto the sofa and threw an arm over his eyes.

She laughed. "He's Damon's kid too." She reminded teasingly, making Stefan laugh.

"That's for sure." The younger Salvatore brother shook his head. "You should've seen him. When we were leaving the park, a woman's wallet falls out of her purse as she's pushing her kid's in a stroller. He runs over, picks it up and hands it to her. She thanks him and asks him if he knew he was cute, and do you know what he said?" Stefan asked as he and Jeremy started laughing at the end.

Jen simply shook her head. Before Stefan could stop laughing to tell her, Damon did instead. "He said and I quote: '_Yes, thank you. It's because I look like my daddy.'_ And then he pointed to me." He smirked proudly, making Jen laugh, and Stefan and Jeremy fall into another laughing fit.

"Wow… He has your modesty, Damon." Jen shook her head, still chuckling. "Jeremy, you should stay for dinner and the night if you'd like. You guys must be hungry. There's food in the oven for you and a banana cream pie in the fridge." She explained with a smile. "I'm gonna give JD a bath."

"I'll be up when it's time to put him to bed." Damon smiled at her before she walked out.

"Wow… I guess I'm staying for dinner." Jeremy patted his belly. "And the night because I'm tired as hell and I want to try Jen's banana cream pie." He grinned cheekily. "Damn, if she was willing, I would marry her." He joked.

Damon rolled his eyes. "As if she's gonna marry some kid, Baby Gilbert. Jen needs a man." He walked over and poured himself a glass of bourbon. Jeremy and Stefan both shared knowing look before Damon continued. "She needs someone to take care of her and be good around JD, but if you think that I'm gonna let some kid or some douchebag into her and JD's life you are sorely mistaken." He turned around and the 2 saw fire in his eyes. "She needs someone who will treat her like the kickass woman that she is. She needs someone who deserves her." He ended with conviction, taking a sip of his bourbon. Not that there was any man who deserved her in his mind.

Jeremy and Stefan smiled at each other again. "Someone like you?" His brother asked with a smirk and an arched eyebrow.

Damon nearly choked on his drink. "What the fuck are you talking about, Stefan?" His face also mirrored a _WTF _expression as the other 2 rolled their eyes.

"You loved her once…" Stefan reminded.

"And _she_ still loves _you_." Jeremy added.

Damon shook his head, effectively keeping them from continuing. This was _not_ a conversation he was ready for, much less with his brother and Baby Gilbert. "I am _not_ having this conversation with the 2 of _you_." He glared. "Go eat dinner. I heard Jen take JD into his room so I have to go tuck my son in. Stef, show Baby Gilbert one of the guest rooms." He ordered and walked out.

He quickly made his way to JD's room and found Jen zipping up his footie pajamas. "Hey," He smiled at his barely conscious son, who simply waved tiredly.

Jen chuckled. "You should've seen him. He could barely. Keep his eyes open."

Damon chuckled as well as Jen lay JD in bed. "Good night, kiddo." Damon kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight, baby." Jen kissed JD's forehead as well and they both walked out. "Are you ok?" She asked once JD's bedroom door was closed.

"What do you mean?" He looked at her confused.

She arched an eyebrow. "Damon… I know you. I can practically see the frustration rolling off of you."

"It's nothing." He shrugged casually. He sure as hell couldn't tell her what Jeremy and Stefan were talking to him about.

"Damon." She repeated in that same tone. Her piercing gaze looking deeper into him than anyone had before.

He sighed heavily. He knew that he had to tell her _something_ because he could clearly see that she wasn't just going to let it go. "Stefan and Jeremy just talking some bullshit and it's been a long day so my tolerance for bullshit is even lower than usual." He gave her a half hearted crooked smile.

She gave him a smile in return. "Well taking care of a toddler all day long _can _be pretty exhausting." She nudged him playfully. "When was the last time you fed?" She asked, not suspiciously but with concern.

"A while ago…" He answered as they descended.

"You should go out for a hunt or something. I saw that there are no more blood bags downstairs." She suggested as if she _wasn't _talkingabout human beings. She acted as if it didn't bother her. "You should probably pick some up while you're out too."

'_Who is this girl?'_ Damon's mind couldn't help but question as a smile formed on his face. "You are something else."

"What do you mean?" She looked at him confused, making him chuckle.

"You act like I'm about to go eat steak, not people." He chuckled and she joined him.

"You're a vampire, Damon." She rolled her eyes. "I don't elude myself with this vampire situation. I know what you are and I accept it." She gave him a reassuring smile as they reached the bottom.

He couldn't help, but smile back. "Ok, I'm gonna go grab a drink and a few blood bags from a few different towns." He explained. "I'll be home late." And without noticing, he gave her a kiss on the cheek before zooming out the front door, leaving a blushing Jen surprised.

But Stefan and Jeremy _did_ notice the kiss and they shared a smile.

* * *

Caroline was driving Jen to the bakery for her job interview and Caroline was chatting away about the bakery, but Jen was too busy thinking about the kiss on the cheek that Damon had given her. '_What did it even mean?... No!' _She screamed at herself. '_It meant nothing. I can't let it get to me. Damon doesn't like me like that. He loves Elena. I'm just the mother of his son… that's it.'_ She sighed heavily.

"Jen?" Caroline asked, blue eyes filled with concern. "Are you ok? You're super quiet."

Jen nodded. "Just a little nervous. I really want this job actually. I love to cook."

Caroline smiled. She'd heard Jen's heart skip a beat, but she still wasn't close enough to the older girl to push the envelope… _yet_. "Of course you're gonna get it, Jen!" She assured, turning her attention back to the road. "You're a kickass baker."

"Thanks, Caroline." Jen was touched by the young blonde's friendliness. They barely knew each other and Caroline was so willing to help her. "You're a really good person, Caroline. In fact, I think you're my first friend here in Mystic Falls, other than Damon that is."

"And I'm _waaay_ better than Damon." Caroline laughed as she parked in front of the bakery, which was named Sweets n Treats. "Here we are." She and Jen quickly got out of the car, and they walked in. "Layla!" Caroline called out loudly and luckily, the bakery was empty.

A small woman with graying hair, gentle eyes and a sweet smile walked out from the back. "Hello, Caroline dear." She walked from behind the counter and hugged the peppy blonde.

"Layla, this is my friend Jennifer. She is an incredible baker." Caroline reached into her bag, pulled out a small square Tupperware and opened it to reveal the banana cream pie that Jen had made the day before. "Try this." She picked up a plastic spoon off of the counter and handed it as well as the Tupperware to Layla.

"Caroline?!" Jen's eyes practically bulged out of her head. "When did you get that?"

"When you were getting dressed, duh." Caroline winked as Layla took a bite of the pie.

"Hmm…" Layla hummed and Jen's nervousness grew. "This is delicious, Jennifer." Layla smiled and finished the pie.

"Thank you, Ms. Fell, and please call me Jen." Jen blushed and smiled.

"I like Jennifer." Layla smiled, but her tone left no room for arguing. "Now that I've tasted your pie, which I highly enjoyed, tell me a about yourself." She pointed to a table and the 3 of them sat down.

"Well I'm 21 years old, I just moved here to Mystic Falls and I have the most adorable son in the world." Jen stated proudly. "I know that every mother says that, but JD really is the cutest little boy in the world." She pulled out her phone and began showing Layla pictures of JD.

"He really _is_ a cute little boy." Layla smiled at the pictures of the smiling toddler. "What does JD stand for?"

"Jacob Damon." Jen answered with a smile, admiring the pictures as well. She would never get tired of seeing her son's smiling face.

"Is that his father?" Layla asked as they came across a picture of JD and Damon smiling happily into the camera. "They look so much alike."

Jen's smile widened if only a bit. "Yes, that's Damon."

"He's quite handsome." Layla smiled at Jen. "I've seen him before though."

Jen and Caroline both nodded. "Damon's from here." Caroline slipped in.

"After Damon and I met, had our relationship and got separated, we promised to find each other, but Damon suffered an accident and had amnesia." Jen looked away, feeling all the sorrow that she hid deep inside of her start coming to the surface. "He lost all of his memories of me…" She trailed off, not being able to continue.

"But he found you now, right dearie?" Layla put a comforting arm around her. "Amnesia's a bitch, but he's been remembered and he's been remembering, right?"

Jen laughed at the tone in the old woman's voice. "Yes, he has."

"Then that's all that matters, my dear." Layla chuckled. "You're hired, Jennifer dear. You can come in tomorrow at 8am and we close at 6pm. Have you figured out where your son will be while you work?" She looked at her with concern.

"Damon and I are going to the daycare after I leave here to make the arrangements for JD." She answered tucking a curl behind her ear. "But are you serious about me working here?" Jen asked hopefully, she couldn't believe that Layla was hiring her so easily.

"Yes, sweetie. You are the right person to work here with me." Layla assured with a nod. "And call me Layla."

"Thank you so much, Layla." Jen hugged her. "Thank you so much. This means a lot to me."

"It's my pleasure, sweetie." Layla returned the hug.

"Well we should get going. Damon and I have to meet with the people at the daycare."Jen stood up and Caroline followed in suit. "Thanks so much, Layla. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, dearie." Layla waved as the girls walked out.

When they made their way over to Caroline's car, Jen saw a young blonde girl that she vaguely recognized , but couldn't remember from where, leaning against the car. "Ugh…" Caroline groaned. "Not her."

"Who is she?" Jen looked at Caroline and then the blonde.

"That's Rebekah," Caroline rolled her eyes. "She's Klaus's annoying little sister."

And Jen's mind reminded her that Damon and Rebekah once had sex, and her heart dropped into her stomach. "Oh…" Was all she could say.

"I heard that, Caroline." Rebekah leaned off the car and stood in front of them. "Just because Nik is fond of you, doesn't mean that I am."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here, Rebekah?"

"I wanted to meet Damon's baby mama." She turned to look at Jen with scrutinizing eyes. "Nik told me the story and I didn't think that he was actually serious. I feel bad for you, giving birth to Damon's spawn." She gave Jen a belittling look.

Jen smiled, as if Rebekah's attitude didn't bother her at all. "Would you like to see a picture of him?" She pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket and showed the picture of JD and Damon on her screensaver. "He looks just like his daddy." She stated proudly.

Rebekah looked at her surprised. Normally her attitude turned people off, especially humans. "Hm…" She looked at the little boy on the screen. He had his father's hair, smile and eyes, but his nose and ears were his mother's. "I had sex with Damon, you know." She pursed her lips, hoping to get a rise out of her like she did with the younger doppelganger.

Jen smirked and crossed her arms. "Who hasn't? Damon's been alive for 150 years. He's gotten a lot of ass." She understood Damon's lifestyle, but that didn't mean that knowing that he'd been with a lot of women didn't sting a little.

Caroline and Rebekah's jaws dropped and then they both started laughing. "Holy shit!" Rebekah threw her head back and laughed again. "I actually might like you, and I _never_ thought I'd like someone from this damn Petrova line." She smirked at Jen.

"Wow… I don't think that I've ever heard a girl talk like that before." Caroline shook her head, still in giggles.

"Well if you'd met my friend Max when we were in high school, you'd understand why I do." Jen chuckled. "Well it's nice to meet you, Rebekah." Jen held out her hand. "I'm Jennifer Pierce, by the way, but you can call me Jen."

Rebekah shook it. "Rebekah Mikaelson." She gave a small smile. "I guess I'll see you around then."

"I guess so."Jen shrugged with a small smile of her own, and the Original zoomed away. "She seems nice when you get beyond the spiteful attitude." She smiled at Caroline, who looked at her like she was crazy. "Well come one, Caroline." She smiled and got in the car.

* * *

Jen had been working at Treats n Sweets for a week and she loved every moment of it. Layla was amazing to work with and she had already taught Jen so much. Jen had been arranging the cupcake display when she heard the bell on the door ding. She turned around to face the customer, smiling upon seeing who it was. "Well, I swear, Rebekah, you've become my most regular customer since I started working here." Jen smiled. She and the young-looking, because she really wasn't young, blonde had really been getting along since the day they'd met.

"Well, I'm bored." Rebekah whined. "Elijah's God-knows-where, Kol's out making up for the years of sex that he missed, and Nik is pining over Caroline, but she still dating the hybrid." She sighed heavily.

"So you came to visit me?" Jen asked amused. Sometimes it didn't seem like Rebekah was over 1000 years old. "And Caroline broke up with Tyler."

"Well, you don't bore me or annoy me." Rebekah shrugged casually as she tucked away the information about Caroline and Tyler's break-up to tell Nik later. "I actually like you." She admitted rather hesitantly. She never had been good at making friends.

"So does this mean that we're friends now?" Jen joked as she continued arranging the cupcakes.

Rebekah smiled. She figured that Jen would hate her just like everyone else in Stefan's gang because she was sure that they'd told her about all the things that she's done, but instead Jen surprised her by actually making her own opinion on Rebekah. "I guess we are." Rebekah smirked. "Now what's new around here?"

"Well thanks to Layla's encouragement for me to try new recipes, I've made a derby pie, white chocolate cheesecake, and blueberry cupcakes with white chocolate and butter cream frosting topped with a blueberry." She smiled as she pointed each one out.

"Hmmm…" Rebekah hummed as she admired all the sweets. "Thank God I'm a bloody vampire because it all looks good so I'll take one of each." She smiled. "What's derby pie?"

"It's chocolate and walnut." Jen answered as she pulled out a slice of the pie. "What about to drink?" She pulled out the cheesecake and cupcake.

"Do you have any of that honeydew tea?" Rebekah pulled out her wallet. "It was delicious."

"I'll get that for you." She quickly poured the tea into the cup for her friend. "$17.62," Jen gave her the total without using the register.

"It still amazes me how you do that." Rebekah shook her head and sat on the stool.

"Well I _was,_ as Damon put it, the number one nerd in school." Jen chuckled. "Are you going to the opening of the Founder's Day celebration today?"

"I guess so." Rebekah shrugged as she took a bite of the pie and moaned. "Oh my God… this is amazing."

"Thanks." Jen laughed. "That's good I want you to meet JD."

"I forget that you have a kid and that it's Damon's." Rebekah continued to devour her pie. "Is he really a good dad?" She couldn't help but ask. Damon had a very volatile personality and that brought back memories of her own father, who was the opposite of a good father.

"He's amazing." Jen said without a second thought. "He's so good to JD. He's a wonderful father." She smiled wistfully.

"I guess I'll have to see it to believe it." Rebekah chuckled.

"You will, and I'm sure you'll be surprised." Jen nodded as she started cleaning up.

"Closing already?" Rebekah inquired in surprise. The bakery didn't usually close until 6 and it was only 5.

"Yeah," Jen answered. "With the opening of the celebration today, Layla wants to close early since she's part of a founding family. Since it was so busy here this morning, we made up for it."

"It was?" The bakery got a decent amount of business since it was located close to the highway so a lot of travelers that were just passing by came in.

"Yeah." Jen nodded. "With the celebration this weekend a lot of people had family and friends come in from out of town for some of the activities, like the fair tomorrow." She explained. "It was so full in here that I could hardly keep up." She closed the register, slipped off the apron, grabbed her purse then went to sit next to Rebekah. "I am exhausted." She took a piece from the cupcake that Rebekah was eating.

"Hey!" The blonde shoved her playfully, making Jen laugh and stand up.

"Don't you dare complain!" She poked Rebekah, who had already finished the pie and cheesecake, and then was polishing off the cupcake. "I saved that last cupcake for you because the rest sold like hotcakes." She childishly stuck out her tongue at her.

Rebekah stood up. "Well I know why." She licked her lips. "It was delicious and as my friend, you _should_ have saved me one." She stated as they walked towards the door.

Jen laughed at her new friend's antics. "Yeah, yeah," She rolled her eyes. "Bye, Layla!" Jen yelled from door.

"Bye, dearie!" Layla yelled from the back, and the 2 girls walked out.

"Well, I'll see you later, Bekah." She hugged her, which surprised the original vampire.

Rebekah hugged her back with a small smile. "See you later, Jen."

The 2 went their separate ways, and Jen's drive back to the boarding house was rather quiet as she simply hummed to a song on the radio. In no time, she pulled into the driveway and when inside, anxious to see her son.

She opened the door and she heard little feet running in her direction. "Mommy!" JD hugged her legs.

Damon must've told him that she was home. '_Freaky vampire hearing.'_ She chuckled and picked JD up. "Hey, sweetie. How was your first day at your new school?"

"It was fun!" He grinned wildly. "I made new friends and finger-painted and played with blocks and played on the playground and sang ABC." He explained excitedly as Damon walked into the foyer.

"Slow down and breathe, buddy." He chuckled. "Mommy must be tired. She had a long day at work." Damon smiled at her, which made her heart rate pick up ever so slightly. "Welcome home. He's been dying for you to come home so that he could tell you about his day." He walked over to them and ruffled JD's hair, and then he suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?" She eyed him curiously.

"JD, why don't you go upstairs and get the drawing that you made in school for Mommy to see?" Damon's voice was tense as Jen let JD down and he did as his father told.

"What's wrong, Damon?" She asked again.

"You smell like the vampire who was hunting you in Atlanta, Jen." He frowned. "He found you. He shouldn't have, but he did."

"What?" Her eyes widened with fear. "Why? How?"

Damon ran a hand through his hair. "You must be a special hunt for him. Jen, vampires feel stronger than humans do. When we want something badly, we do _whatever_ we have to in order to get it and he wants _you_."

Jen's heart thudded in her chest as fear filled her. "But…_Why_? And what about JD?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "

"I don't know." He sighed heavily. "But don't worry, you and JD are safe. I'm gonna find him and end him. Murderous flames burned in Damon's blue eyes. "Why do you smell like Barbie Klaus too?" He gave her an odd look.

A smile broke out on Jen's face. "Barbie Klaus?" She asked with a giggle. "Rebekah comes by the bakery and we talk. We're friends."

He looked at incredulously. "Really?"

"Yeah." She laughed at the look on his face. "We get along quite well."

"Ooookaay… Just be careful." He continued to look at her oddly. "Did you see anyone weird or even someone that you did know at the bakery today?"

She sighed heavily. "Today was busy as hell with people coming in town visiting family with the beginning of the Founder's Day celebrations. I barely saw the faces of the people I served today."

"Ok…" He nodded. "Go get ready for the opening tonight. JD and I are ready, and try to stay close today, ok? I don't want anything to happen to you." He rubbed her arm softly. "Until we catch whoever this is, you and JD will be watched ok?"

She nodded. "Ok." Damon released her and an hour later Jen came down in dark wash jeans, a red chiffon blouse, and black ankle booties. Her hair was loose with the curls framing her face, and natural make-up.

"You look great." He smiled at her and she blushed, hanging JD's bag on the banister.

"Thanks." She came down to the last step as JD ran up to her.

"Look Mommy!" He held up a picture of 3 funnily drawn people. "It's me, you, and Daddy!"

She smiled proudly. "That's beautiful, sweetie." She took the picture from him. "Let's go put it on the fridge." She walked into the kitchen as they followed her. She placed the paper against the fridge and put a magnet on top of it. "There." She turned to look at JD. "Now everyone will get to enjoy your art."

"Yeah!" He agreed happily.

"Ok, let's get going." Damon took JD's hand and they walked back to the foyer. "I already got the picnic blanket and put it in the car for us."

"And I have JD's bag and the camera." She smiled, picking up JD's bag.

"You need to start being _in_ the pictures with us, you know." Damon smirked, reaching into the bag and pulling out the camera as he picked JD up. "Now, say cheese."

"Cheese!" JD grinned widely as Jen and Damon smiled when he snapped the picture.

"Good, now let's go." Damon slipped the camera back into JD's bag, and in10 minutes they were at the square.

"Hey guys!" Caroline greeted as Jen, Damon and JD approached her as well as Stefan, Bonnie, Jeremy, Matt and Elena. The others echoed her greeting.

"Hey, everyone." "Hey." Jen and Damon said in unison.

"Hi." JD waved with a bright smile, making the grown-ups smile as well. Damon spread out their picnic blanket and the 3 of them took a seat.

"So how was your first week of work?" Caroline asked and she and Jen chatted excitedly as the others talked with JD.

Damon stood up and walked over to his brother. "I need to talk to you." He stated lowly, and he and Stefan walked away from their group, but he kept Jen and JD in his line of sight. "The vampire that was hunting Jen is back. He went to the bakery. I was able to smell him on her." Damon explained. "He's obsessed, Stefan. He wants her for some reason and considering he was able to find her all the way here again, he's not gonna give up so easily." His voice was tense and Stefan could see the anger in Damon's eyes. "I have to find him and end this son of a bitch before he gets his hands on Jen or JD."

Stefan sighed, feeling his brother's worry. In the short time that they'd entered his life, Jen and JD had become important to him. "_We_ will find him, Damon. You don't have to do this alone."

Damon arched an eyebrow. "You wanna help?"

Stefan gave him a crooked smile. "They're family, Damon so hell yeah, I'm gonna help you."

A genuine smile broke out on Damon's face. "Thanks, Stef."

Stefan nodded and they returned to their friends, but only Caroline and Jen were left and they were talking as JD played with a train toy.

"Jen, I have _no idea_ what to do. Mrs. Lockwood helped me to organize the Founder's day, but I have no ideas to make it amazing." Caroline sighed and Jen giggled at Caroline's dramatics as the Salvatore brothers sat down.

"It's just a party, Caroline." Damon rolled his eyes.

Caroline huffed. "You should _want_ this party, Damon. You and Stefan _were_ founders after all."

"I guess we're over it." Stefan chuckled and Damon nodded his agreement.

Jen giggled again. "Relax, Care. I'm sure you'll think of something." She patted Caroline's lap.

"Did you get to participate in a Founder's Ball, Jen?" Caroline asked hopefully.

"Yes," Jen smiled. "It was the first anniversary of Mystic Falls and the first Founder's ball."

"What was it like?" Caroline smiled and turned into curious gossip girl mode.

"Well…" Jen stopped as the memories flooded her. "The dresses were beautiful. Everything was so extravagant and luxurious." She smiled wistfully. "My date wasn't half bad either." She smirked at Damon, who smirked back.

"I think you're undervaluing your experience that night." His eyes met hers and she chuckled.

"Why is that?"

"Because if do recall correctly, he gave you a hell of a kiss at the end of the night and you said that it was the most amazing kiss you'd ever had." The cockiness was rolling off of him in waves.

Jen blushed and chuckled. That's because it was, especially since it was the first kiss that he ever gave me."

"Aw!" Caroline squealed. "You guys had your first kiss at the Founder's Ball? That's so cute!"

"And they were inseparable after that." Stefan added with a chuckle.

"Aw!" She squealed again. "Well I've just had a brilliant idea. We're doing the Founder's ball 1864 style!" Caroline clapped her hands. "I have to tell Mrs. Lockwood!" She jumped up and walked away.

"I'm gonna go get a soda." Stefan stood up. "You guys want something?" Both shook their heads and Stefan walked away.

Jen looked around and saw Rebekah talking to some high school girl. "Bekah!" She called out, getting the girl's attention.

Rebekah made her way through the crowd as Jen and Damon stood up. "Hey, Jen." She smiled and Jen smiled.

"Hey, Bekah." She picked up JD. "Bekah, this is JD. JD this is my friend Rebekah." She introduced and JD smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Rebekah." He held out his hand.

Rebekah couldn't help, but smile in return. "It's nice to meet you too, JD. You can just call me Rebekah."

"Okay, Rebekah." He hugged her and she hugged him back.

Her smiled disappeared when she saw Damon eying her. "Damon." She greeted coolly.

"Rebekah." He replied in the same tone. At that moment, Damon decided that as long as Barbie Klaus was good to Jen and JD, they wouldn't have a problem.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Tyler Lockwood greeted form the stage, and everyone turned to watch. "I'd like to thank you all for coming to the opening of our Founder's Day celebration." Tyler spoke with confidence and surprising eloquence. "As a member of a founding family I'd like-" His voice was cut off by a loud gunshot and blood began seeping through his shirt.

* * *

**And there it is! Thanks so much for the reviews and follows guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**YES! I am a Klaroline shipper! So you **_**will**_** see them happen here! **

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**-Major J.**


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